At the end of 1970s, Pliva Company developed a brand-new antibiotic-azithromycin. From the initial stage of the experiment, azithromycin has been proved to be an extremely effective antibiotic, which is characterized by its longer residence time in animal tissues than other similar antibiotics. Years of research have enabled Pliva to develop a drug with great potential and value. However, at that time, compared with the dominant global pharmaceutical companies, Croatia's pharmaceutical industry was at best a small player, lacking the necessary capital to enter the international market and get rich profits from its successful scientific research results.
198 1 year, Pliva company obtained the patent right of azithromycin in the world, including the United States. At that time, the drug was still in the experimental stage and had not been approved by the health authorities. Scientists in Pfizer stumbled upon Pliva's patent while searching the database of the US Patent and Trademark Office, and realized the great potential of this antibiotic. As one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in the United States, with sales representatives all over the world, Pfizer provides Pliva with an ideal channel to realize the commercialization of its antibiotics. The negotiations between the two pharmaceutical companies finally reached a licensing agreement, with which the two pharmaceutical companies and even the general public can benefit from the commercialization of a powerful antibiotic.
According to this agreement, Pfizer has the right to sell azithromycin worldwide. Pliva Company reserves the right to use its own trademark (Sumamed) to sell this product in Central and Eastern Europe, and get royalties from Pfizer's sales. Today, Pfizer's registered trademark Zithromax for azithromycin has become the best-selling antibiotic of American brands, with annual sales exceeding $654.38 billion. For Pliva Pharmaceutical Company, which is nothing compared with the licensee Pfizer, this license agreement means a huge breakthrough in annual income, enabling it to expand its scientific research activities. Today, Pliva has become the largest pharmaceutical company in Croatia, and its sales are among the best in Central and Eastern European pharmaceutical companies.
This case clearly shows that even small pharmaceutical companies can benefit from strong patent protection and good business policies. Companies that invest heavily in R&D will eventually find that the use of intellectual property system is an important means to commercialize their scientific research achievements and open up seemingly unattainable long-distance market channels.