Why do pharmaceutical companies need to apply for patents?

As a pharmaceutical enterprise and a high-tech new drug development, it takes a long time for preclinical research and clinical research of new drugs. If someone else has applied for the patent of this technology at this stage, the research invested in the early stage of the new drug will be wiped out, and the monitoring period protection obtained after the registration of the new drug is approved is only 5 years at the longest; In contrast, the advantages of patents are obvious. First, you can apply for a patent for technological achievements at the stage of new drug research and development, and get an earlier application date, so that those who apply for a patent later than you will not be authorized. After your patent is authorized, you will get a 20-year patent protection period for your invention. On the contrary, if anyone can use open technology without patent protection, it will bring huge losses to enterprises.