Switzerland Receives Request For Compulsory Licence On Breast Cancer Drug

By Catherine Saez

Swiss health activist group Public Eye yesterday requested the Swiss government to declare a compulsory licence for a Roche breast cancer treatment which the group says is unaffordable.

According to Public Eye [pdf – in French], Swiss federal intellectual property law includes the possibility of compulsory licences. The group prepared a compulsory licence file for Perjeta, (chemical name pertuzumab), a Roche blockbuster, and is asking the Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset to forward it to the Swiss patent court.

The request for a compulsory licence is available here [pdf].

“Exorbitant” prices of medicines are leading to skyrocketing health costs in Switzerland, and constitute a barrier to access to medicines, according to Public Eye.

The breast cancer treatment combining Perjeta, and Herceptin (chemical name trastuzumab), also manufactured by Swiss-based Roche costs CHF 100,000 per year per patient, according to Public Eye, who adds that the Swiss pharmaceutical giant has banked over CHF 2 billion thanks to its Perjeta sales.

A compulsory licence could lower the price of the breast cancer treatment, by allowing the production of generic alternatives, the group said.