Drugs — Product or Service?

Abstract

The concept of a drug is changing dramatically these years. The objective of this paper is to describe a number of these changes in order to instigate a discussion on whether drugs should now be considered as a product or as a service. Products have been evaluated on the basis of the findings of clinical trials. But with the understanding of a pharmaceutical as a service rather than a product, the evaluation should be based on the outcome of both classic clinical trials and the services. Through controlled studies, the services around the product should document a better treatment outcome. In this case, the product plus the service would justify a clear distinction from other similar products with no service, and might even justify a higher price. The service plus the product might apply for a third patent or at least a trademark, which is what creating the third patent as business incentive is all about.