WIPO and pharma industry launch global medicines patent database
On 25 September, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in collaboration with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) launched the Patent...
Dutch health insurance company Menzis takes AstraZeneca to court over patent evergreening
Today health insurance company Menzis announced that it is taking the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to court over the pricing of Seroquel, a medicine...
CJEU Ruling on Truvada recalls ‘evergreening’ goes against public health interests
On 25th July 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered its preliminary ruling on the interpretation of Article 3(a) of Regulation...
New Dutch Foundation to Address High Medicines Pricing Announces Plan to File Complaint with...
The newly established Dutch Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation has announced its first action to address unreasonably high medicines prices in the Netherlands. The Foundation will...
How patents, data exclusivity and SPCs interact to extend market exclusivity of medicines: the...
Patents usually confer 20-year exclusive rights on inventions. Data exclusivity laws confer, depending on the country, 5 to 10 years’ exclusive rights over safety...
European Pharmaceutical Legislation Needs Exceptions to Data and Market Exclusivity to Protect European Patients...
On 11 May 2018, US President Trump announced his plans to lower drug prices in America. Under the banner "American Patients First" he outlined...
Will the European Court of Justice put a stop to the evergreening of Truvada...
Truvada, the fixed-dose combination of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricitabine (FTC) is a critical medicine in both HIV treatment and prevention. It is...
Brazil’s Federal Court Reviews Medicines Mailbox Patents
This week the media reported that the Brazilian federal court removed the patent protection for eculizumab, sold under the brand name Soliris by Alexion...
The Power of TRIPS Flexibilities in Medicines Procurement
The government of Malaysia has began to roll out treatment of people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Treatment will be a combination of...
European Commission Publishes Expert Panel’s Recommendations on High Drug Prices
This month the European Commission published Innovative Payment Models for High-Cost Innovative Medicines, a report of the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing...