Australian Pharmaceutical Patents Expiring August 2014
Rodney Cruise, Principal
Below is a report from IP Organisers (an independent service company of Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick) detailing Australian Pharmaceutical Patents (that have been granted extensions) and that are due to expire in the coming month.
This report covers Australian patents whose Extension of Term expires in July 2014.
Ophthalmic compositions comprising combinations of a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor and a beta-adrenergic antagonist
Abstract
Combinations of a B-adrenergic antagonist and a topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor are particularly useful in the treatment of ocular hypertension, especially in patients insufficiently responsive to treatment with B-adrenergic antagonists.
The invention relates to benzimidazoles of the general formula in which R1 to R4 are as defined in Claim 1, mixtures of the 1 and 3 isomers thereof, and the salts thereof, which have valuable properties. The compounds are, in particular, angiotensin antagonists.
[EU] EU Fines Drug Producers for Delaying Cheaper Medicine
“European Union regulators handed down fines totaling €427.7 million ($582.1 million) to French pharmaceutical company Laboratoires Servier SA and five generic drug producers on Wednesday for colluding to delay a cheaper version of a blood-pressure medicine.”
[India] US pharma companies want dialogue with India on IPRs, clinical trials
“Top executives of American pharma companies favour “dialogue” with India and “not confrontation” to address their concerns on key issues like the protection of intellectual property (IP) and clinical trials. Arguing that global pharma companies share the same goal of “patient first” with that of the Government of India, corporate executives attending the day-long “US-India BioPharma and Healthcare Summit” organised by the USA-India Chamber of Commerce said they should not be considered as adversaries by New Delhi.”
[General] Thomson Reuters Analysis Finds High Market Potential in Depression Pharma Market
“The Intellectual Property and Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today released a three-part analysis on the depression drug market following the 25th anniversary of the U.S. launch of the iconic antidepressant Prozac. Now, just beyond a quarter-century later, Thomson Reuters analysts have found a considerable amount of untapped potential for the pharmaceutical industry to develop treatments for managing the debilitating condition of depression.”
[South Africa] Changes to intellectual property policy in South Africa: putting a stop to evergreening?
“As the South African government revises national intellectual property (IP) policies, the pharmaceutical industry and global access to medicines movement are watching, aware of ramifications South Africa’s actions will have on patent laws and the availability of generic medicines in other middle-income countries and across Africa. South Africa’s draft IP policy is meeting fierce resistance from industry, although proposed reforms are compliant with the Agreement on trade related aspects of intellectual property (TRIPS) and in line with on-going policies and actions of both developing and developed countries. Could the establishment of a patent examination system and new patentability criteria rein in evergreening and lead to lower medicine prices?”
[West Africa] Implementing And Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights In West Africa
“Stronger IP enforcement not only encourages innovation but can serve to reduce the risk of death of those in developing countries. There are major challenges facing implementation of IP rights in West African countries though. Those include a lack of knowledge or superficial knowledge about IP, lack of understanding of the value of creativity, an understanding of IP law that is limited to copyright law, the degree of poverty combined with the expense of drugs, and the inadequate training of government officials, the legislature, and judges with respect to IP rights. The goal of this article is to suggest some strategies for the implementation and enforcement of the TRIPS Agreement in West Africa, including both what can be done in West African countries as well as developed countries like the United States.”
[United Kingdom] Court Denies Lilly’s Application to Block GSK SPC
“The English High Court has dismissed an application by Eli Lilly to stop Human Genome Sciences (HGS) from receiving a supplementary protection certificate (SPC) based on a marketing authorisation Lilly may receive for a new drug. HGS, now owned by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), holds European Patent 0 939 804, which covers the protein neutrokine-α and the antibodies that bind to it. According to the judgment, many thousands of antibodies bind to neutrokine-α”.
[Europe] European Union: More Uncertainty Regarding SPCs… …And Back To The CJEU We G
“As many readers will be aware, Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) provide a means of obtaining additional protection for pharmaceutical and plant protection products in Europe following patent expiry, to compensate for delays in placing products on the market due to the need to fulfil regulatory requirements. One of the key conditions for obtaining an SPC is that the product, i.e., the active ingredient or combination of active ingredients in the medicinal product, is protected by your patent – as required by Article 3(a) of the SPC Regulation. Sounds relatively simple, doesn’t it? Such is the value of any extension of patent term however, that it is no surprise applicants continue to seek favourable interpretations on just what SPCs can be obtained for”.
[China] SPC Publishes Revised Judicial Interpretation on Patent Infringement Litigation for Public Comments
“On July 16, the Supreme Peoples Court published a public comment draft of proposed revisions to its “Decision of the SPC Regarding Questions of Application of Law in Adjudication of Patent Cases”, 最高人民法院关于审理专利纠纷案件适用法律问题的若干规定. Comments are due by August 15, 2014. Comments may be emailed to: zhuanliyijian@163.com。The last revision to this document was in 2013, when a provision was inserted to give jurisdiction to designated basic courts to handle patent cases”.
