Patents and intellectual property

To enable the creation of new ideas and products at the right time, as well as to protect existing drugs, the term “Life Cycle Management (LCM)” was coined for the pharmaceutical industry. LCM aims to maximize profits for any drug at any stage in its life cycle, from the very beginning of its creation until it is withdrawn from the market. Thus, this brings advantages with respect to intellectual rights and laws, as well as in food and drug regulations, since LCM is used as a tool for defense and attack against current or future competitors of the company. (Ponnusamy & Christopher, 2018)