Background::
Protection of Intellectual Property Rights is a clear incentive to innovations; yet, several countries have provided further incentives to patents in pharmaceuticals because the full patent term of 20 years is largely exhausted, before marketing authorization.
Objective::
The purpose of this article is to describe the various incentives to patents in the form of financial support, data exclusivity and most importantly extended market exclusivities and comparison of various incentives to patents in the United States of America, European Union and India.
Methodology::
The detail of incentives is collected from various articles, latest topics, books, and newspapers.
Result::
These incentives create a positive surrounding to encourage the drug development process, strengthen economic growth and improve a balance between new pharmaceuticals in the market and access of that medicine to general public at a reasonable price.
Conclusion::
European Union and the United States of America are leading in the field of incentives to patenting in phar-maceuticals as compared to India. Indian Patent Act, 1970, needs to be re-looked in terms of data exclusivity and patent term extensions.