Originally posted by oxford mushroom:
In July 2004, 12 drug manufacturers in China successfully
challenged Pfizer's Viagra patent, in effect gaining the ability to
make sildenafil citrate-containing drugs with impunity. A month
later, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) bowed out from a dispute over the
diabetes drug [b]rosiglitazone (Avandia) after four
Chinese manufacturers filed requests to invalidate their
formulation patent. The manufacturers can now legally produce a
version of the drug, although GSK retains the exclusive right to
manufacture Avandia itself, as it holds patents on the
manufacturing process and compound. "We saw the case was not that
robust and decided it was sensible to withdraw," says GSK spokesman
Chris Hunter-Ward.
Experts are following the two cases closely for indications of what
this means for China's legal system, and its ability to protect
patents. Pfizer launched an appeal in September 2004 with
Bei-jing's First Intermediate People's Court. In March, a Chinese
court adjourned a hearing on Pfizer's appeal and said a verdict
will be delivered at a later date.
At the time of the decision, Pfizer's chairman and chief executive,
Henry McKinnell, said the company was "extremely disappointed" and
that the decision could discourage Pfizer from making further
investments in China. Deputy US Trade Representative Josette Shiner
described the challenge to Pfizer's patent as "particularly
troubling" and the American Chamber of Commerce in China questioned
China's commitment to respecting the intellectual property (IP)
rights of foreign companies.
However, if Pfizer ultimately loses the case, it is unlikely to
deter other drug manufacturers from the Chinese market, according
to Alan Adcock, senior associate with IP consultants Rouse &
Co. International. "The market's too attractive," he says.
What it could do is push pharmaceutical companies to take patent
protection in China more seriously, says Toby Mak, patent executive
at international law firm Deacons in Hong Kong. "Chinese
manufacturers are small, but if they can come together they have
sufficient resources to play the patent game."
Arguably, grappling with patent infringement goes with the
territory of staking an early claim to China's huge and growing
pharmaceuticals market. Western medicine accounts for 67% of the
total market, of which over 70% is in the form of generic drugs,
according to China's State Food and Drug Administration. Last year,
China's pharmaceuticals market was the fastest growing in the
world, with sales up 28% to $9.5 billion (US), according to
international pharmaceutical and healthcare consultants IMS. By
2010, it is expected to be worth $24 billion. That number is
peanuts compared to the $466 billion market in the US, but still
the fifth largest in the world after the United States, Japan,
Germany, and France.
http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15489/
Cheap generics of this drug from China are available. You are free
to buy in China if you want to, but the Health Ministry is bound by
legal obligations.[/b]
Your cut and paste is totally irrelevant.
Must be the stress from managing toilets in UK.
