E-DRUG: GTPI questions patent application of Truvada® (emtricitabine + tenofovir)
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*Group fights undeserved patent*
On August 20th, the Working Group on Intellectual Property (GTPI) of the
Brazilian Network for the Integration of Peoples (REBRIP), integrated by the organizations ABIA, Conectas Human Rights, GAPA / SP, GAPA / RS, GRAB,
Gestos - Seropositivity Communication and Gender, GIV, IDEC, and Fenaf RNP + / SLS, submitted a pre-grant opposition against the patent application
(PI0406760-6) of the drug Truvada ®, requested by Gilead Sciences Inc. The
submissions of documents to the technical examinations allow interested
parties to present arguments that challenge a patent application. The
organizations argued that the application should be denied for not meeting
the requirements of patentability of the Industrial Property Law (9279/96).
The patent application filed by Gilead intends to protect Truvada®, an
anti-AIDS drug that combines into one pill two pharmaceutical products
already marketed by Gilead: Tenofovir (Viread®), whose patent has recently
been denied and emtricitabine (Emtriva®) who had never been under patent in
Brazil. Truvada®, mainly because it is a combination of known products,
lacks basic requirements for the granting of patents, such as inventiveness, novelty and industrial application. Moreover, the application has problems of disclosure, violating the very foundations of granting patent protection, which aims to make available the new knowledge to society.
The granting of a patent means that only the owner can explore the protected product, by eliminating competition and enabling the stipulation of high prices through monopoly. Brazilian civil society is very concerned about the abuses of the patent system, especially regarding the impact of abuse on public health and the population's access to essential medicines. Divisional patent applications (such as the one filed for tenofovir) or combinations, such as Truvada®, do not stimulate pharmaceutical innovation, in contrast, stimulate undeserved monopoly on technology already known and restrict competition in an inappropriate manner, violating the law population.
It is therefore crucial that the Brazilian civil society continues to work
to avoid the granting of undeserved patents for essential products for the
treatment of the population. Remember that the rejection of the patent for
Tenofovir, another drug used in AIDS treatment, was responsible for the
actual reduction of 31.1% of unit price of the drug, according to the
Secretariat of Health Surveillance, Ministry of Health.
(To understand best event, click here:
http://www.deolhonaspatentes.org.br/default.asp?site_Acao=mostraPagina&paginaId=891&acao=blog&blogId=15&comentar=sim#
comment).
Kind regards,
Francisco Viegas Neves da Silva
Working Group of Intellectual Property - GTPI/REBRIP
www.deolhonaspatentes.org.br
Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association - ABIA
www.abiaids.org.br
Av. Presidente Vargas, 446/13 andar - Centro
Rio de Janeiro - RJ
Brasil
tel +55 21 2223-1040 fax +55 21 2253-8495
francisco@abiaids.org.br
skype: chico_neves
twitter: www.twitter.com/franciscoadvbr