E-DRUG: Will the European Court of Justice put a stop to the evergreening of Truvada patents?
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Dear e-drug readers,
Check out Pascale Boulet's latest blog on the issue of the Supplementary Protection Certificate in the EU:
Will the European Court of Justice put a stop to the ever-greening of Truvada patents?
Introduction
Truvada, the fixed-dose combination of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricitabine (FTC) is a critical medicine in both HIV treatment and prevention. It is used as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which can reduce HIV transmission by over 90% in sero-discordant couples. Affordable pricing of the product is therefore important for public health.
Since July 2017, Truvada has been available in generic forms in some European countries (eg. the Netherlands, France) but not in others (eg. UK, Switzerland). This is because the key patent covering tenofovir disoproxil expired in July 2017 in most countries, but not in all. In Europe, some countries have extended the duration of the tenofovir patent beyond the 20-year patent term by granting a supplementary protection certificate (SPC).
Kind regards,
Ellen 't Hoen, LLM | Medicines Law & Policy
www.medicineslawandpolicy.org
ellenthoen@medicineslawandpolicy.net