Key Hepatitis C Drug Licensed To Medicines Patent Pool, Access Expanded For LMICs 12/11/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A key drug to treat hepatitis C has been licensed to the Medicines Patent Pool, enabling generic production and expanding affordable access to the drug in low and middle-income countries, excluding the very largest. The agreement between the Pool and AbbVie had been over a year in the making, MPP Executive Director Charles Gore told Intellectual Property Watch.
Experts Assess Coming Changes In US Courts And Patentability 09/11/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments NEW YORK — A panel of legal and government experts this week discussed trends in courts in the United States on patent cases and changes underway at the US Patent and Trademark Office. One conclusion? There may be a real shift in what is seen as patentable in the US, but it may take an act of Congress. [Note: part 1 of 2. The second part will address this week’s changes in the US Congress.]
Report Finds “Overpatenting”, Overpricing Of Top Diabetes Drug In US 05/11/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Non-profit patent researchers studying the most prominent prescription insulin drug to treat diabetes in the United States found it is “overpatented” and “overpriced,” enabling unwarranted price-hikes resulting in rising costs for patients and taxpayers.
New Report: Mitigating Patent Linkage To Promote Medicines Access In LMICs 26/10/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new report reviews how patent linkage mechanisms have been implemented in South Korea, Australia, Canada, and the United States, and identifies precedents for how low and middle-income countries (LMICs) can retain and exploit “constructive ambiguities” in trade treaty text to mitigate the impacts of patent linkage mechanisms and promote the timely availability of generic medicines.
USPTO Director: It’s A New Day At The PTAB! Is It A New Day For Low-Quality Patents? 26/10/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu yesterday proclaimed what industry patent attorneys may have wanted to hear, that the recently implemented system for challenging the quality of patents in the United States could be reined in under his leadership.
Research Group Identifies Over-Patenting Of Pharmaceuticals In India, Calls For Patent Reform 17/10/2018 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The tricontinental research group “accessibsa” has found that while the Indian Patent Office rejects 40 percent of pharmaceutical patent applications, it should be rejecting 90 percent of applications to comply with Indian patent law, according to the results of its recent study of Indian patent data.
WIPO And Pharma Industry Launch Medicines Patent Database For Easier Access To Medicines 25/09/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A new initiative, the Patent Information Initiative for Medicines (Pat-INFORMED), was launched today at the World Intellectual Property Organization to help health agencies procure medicines. The collaboration between WIPO and the pharmaceutical industry, a free and open-access database, provides information on the legal status of patents on approved medicines.
Brazil Signs Deal With Medicines Patent Pool To Share Patent Information 25/09/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Brazil yesterday signed an agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), through which the country will share patent information with the MPP. The Brazilian IP office joins several others in an effort to regular update of the MPP’s database on patent information. Separately, high-level representatives of Latin American and Iberian countries met on the side of the annual World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies taking place this week.
Why Follow-On Pharmaceutical Innovations Should Be Eligible For Patent Protection 21/09/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Christopher M. Holman writes: Despite the important role of intellectual property rights in incentivizing innovation, the patenting of pharmaceutical innovation is frequently accused of impeding access to medicine. Criticism of the prevailing patent regime has focused in particular on patents directed towards follow-on pharmaceutical innovation, i.e., innovation that seeks to improve upon existing pharmaceuticals and their use in treating patients. Patents on follow-on innovation are often derided as “secondary” patents, with the implication that the underlying inventions are somehow lesser in nature than the subject matter claimed in “primary” patents, i.e., the drug active ingredient per se. While implicitly acknowledging the legitimacy of primary patents, critics of so-called secondary patents contend that patents on follow-on innovation allow drug innovators to “evergreen” their products, i.e., to extend the period of patent exclusivity beyond the expiration of any original patent on the drug active ingredient, and in doing so contribute to the high cost of drugs, thereby limiting the ability of patients to access the drugs upon which they have come to rely.
EPO Upholds Gilead Patent On Hep C Medicines, But In Amended Form 13/09/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment [Updated] The European Patent Office (EPO) on 13 September ruled in favour of pharmaceutical company Gilead and maintained the company’s patent on hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir. The patent, however, is maintained in an amended form. Civil society involved in the case expressed dismay over the outcome and its potential effect on European drug prices.