Any great invention begins with little more than a thought. To transform that initial idea into a tangible tool requires time and money – necessary investments if we want to continue developing ways to improve people’s lives and the world around us. nnovation requires support through appropriate incentives, and via protective mechanisms like the IP system.
After 40 years of false starts, a European Patent with Unitary Effect (the UP) and a Unitary Patent Court (the UPC) is expected in the near future. The biopharmaceutical industry strongly supports a unitary patent and court even though the UP and UPC will not launch in all EU Member States initially (Italy and Spain are yet to join) and with legal uncertainties that may see an incremental engagement of biopharma with the UP/UPC.
This week the Indian Supreme Court denied the patent application of Novartis for its breakthrough medicines Glivec even though it was rewarded a patent in 40 other countries including China, Russia and Taiwan.
Productive discourse between those who believe in the fundamental importance of the patent system and those who do not, is hindered by the technical and legal complexity of patent law. A complexity compounded in the pharmaceutical sector by the interaction of the patent system with drug regulatory practice. Misleading characterizations of the pharmaceutical patent system ( including recent references to “extending patents for decades” ) have become an increasingly common part of public debates concerning both access to pharmaceuticals and the incentives to investment in pharma R&D.
On Tuesday 2nd October MSF launched an online resource to help civil society groups and patient groups in developing countries to challenge unwarranted drug patents through patent oppositions.
BioFIT 2012 Conference will take place on 3 & 4 December 2012 at the "Lille Grand Palais" Convention Center in Lille, France. The event is being co-organized by the Economic Development Agency Eurasanté and IDIS in partnership with EFPIA & EBE.
"We need to help our scientists, whether they are in industry or outside, to make sure that whatever comes out of that is going to reach the patients". Richard Bergström, EFPIA Director-General.
Every new medicine is the result of a long, painstaking and costly research and development process. Thousands of compounds are tested but very few survive the rigorous testing process. That process and the products it produces must have intellectual property protection. Developing and bringing a product to market is hugely expensive to undertake and very easy to imitate.1 No industry could survive in the face of free riding by imitators on innovators’ investments. But that protection is fundamental in the pharmaceuticals industry, where the investments are measured in billions and the development process in decades.
Vaccines Europe
Vaccines Europe, formerly European Vaccine Manufacturers (EVM), is the specialised vaccines group within EFPIA that represents all the major vaccine companies operating in Europe which account for a major part of the human vaccines used worldwide.
Europe needs and deserves healthcare systems that take a modern approach to both demand and delivery. 21st century healthcare systems should benefit to meet the needs of European countries faced with unprecedented challenges of growth, public finance, employment and solidarity. The vision of the biopharmaceutical industry is one of cooperation and partnerships, maximizing the benefits we can deliver to society together through developing innovative medicines.
