EGA Press Release

Thursday, 28 September 2006

EGA WELCOMES PATENT DECISION

The EGA welcomes the decision of the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office, revoking "Citalopram crystalline base" patent EP 1 169 314 in its entirety due to the lack of inventive step. The decision, based on final proceedings in June this year, was taken on 19 July 2006, and became official with its publication this week.

Greg Perry, EGA Director General, said, "This decision highlights the need for a review of how patents are granted. In the light of this unequivocal decision, it is difficult to understand how such a patent could have ever been granted within 18 months, and why it took nearly three years to conclude the opposition procedure."

In the meantime the patent holder sued more than 35 generic medicines companies throughout Europe for "infringing" this so-called "patent". These cases, mostly unsuccessful, generated tremendous expenses in lawyers, patent attorneys and wasted time, and seriously threatened the companies concerned with being removed from the market.

Mr Perry reiterated his call for a review of the current patent regime. "Why waste resources", asked Mr Perry, "on fighting and defending illegitimate patents, when the time and money could be better employed to improve healthcare and lower costs? Indeed these added costs and time delays for market entry of competitive generic medicines will mean added costs for society. "

The necessary reform of the patent system should be part of a wider public policy approach including:

1. a global re-assessment of the use of IP laws relating to medicines, particularly when granting patent extensions, secondary patents and data exclusivity;
2. stronger enforcement of the criteria for granting patents, particularly the inventive step;
3. greater incentives to develop genuine innovative medicines and to discourage the generation and protection of marginal changes to products with no added value for patients;
4. the allocation of public funding to research into priority medicines; and
5. ensuring quick access to the post-patent market for generic equivalents.

See also, EGA Press Release of 10 Nov 2005:
"A Call to Review the Patent System".

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