New rules will 'limit drug patent protection periods'
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The Commerce Ministry will finalise its revision of guidelines for drug patent registration to prevent pharmaceutical companies from extending their patent protection for too long, creating difficulty for poor patients in accessing life-saving drugs.
The new guidelines will ensure that any pharma that asks for an extension will be treated fairly and will ensure fairness for consumers in accessing cheap drugs after their patents expire under the law.
Pajchima Tanasanti, director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, said last week that many patients and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have lobbied the government to seriously consider whether to allow the extension of patents for pharmas.
They accused some drug manufacturers of “evergreening” – making a minor formula adjustment to win an additional protection period after the ending of patent protection.
The department would like to create fair conditions for all involved. It has enlisted the cooperation of pharmas, patients, NGOs and academics from four universities – Chulalongkorn, Mahidol, Kasetsart and Thammasat – to consider the revision.
Under the new guidelines, which should be finalised soon, if a pharma uses a new chemical substance, it would receive patent protection under the law. However, if only some minor changes are made, they may not get additional protection after the first stage of protection.
Patients living with HIV/Aids, cancer and kidney disease have called on the department to make it harder for drug makers to extend their patents, claiming the practice prevents poor patients from accessing life-saving medicines.
Normally, registered patents provide 20 years of protection for a drug formula and allow producers to quote prices as they see fit. However, patients have become concerned about evergreening, which allows patent holders – typically large, multinational drug companies – to keep an existing patent in play for much longer than intended.
