Healthy Skepticism Library item: 6321

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Weeks C.
Government to extend drug patent protection
The Ottawa Citizen 2006 Oct 19

Full text:

The federal government unveiled new regulations yesterday that will extend market protection for some drugs produced by brand name firms in a move critics predict will lead to higher costs for consumers and provinces already facing skyrocketing medicare bills.

The new rules, which took effect earlier this month, increase exclusive selling rights for all brand name drugs to eight years from five, with an additional six months of protection granted to drugs involved in pediatric studies.

The change will affect 25 per cent of manufactured drugs — those that are not protected by the usual 20-year patents that exist on the majority of pharmaceuticals.

The move is a “gift” to major pharmaceutical corporations and will result in dramatically higher drug costs for Canadians, said New Democratic Party health critic and former British Columbia health minister Penny Priddy.

“I think it puts the health of Canadians at risk,” Ms. Priddy said.

“Why the Canadian government would feel it necessary to grant brand name drug companies eight years of data protection in Canada is beyond us,” said Jeff Connell, director of public affairs for the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association.

If the changes had been in effect over the last five years, it would have meant an additional $600 million in drug costs and blocked companies from producing generic versions of about 20 drugs, including Zoloft, Pravachol, Wellbutrin and Celexa, he said.

However, the association representing Canada’s research-based pharmaceutical companies said the regulatory changes will serve to put Canada in line with other countries and will be an incentive for companies to produce new and innovative drugs here.

“I think this is an important step in bringing in new medicines, innovative new medicines for patients and it will help Canada become much more competitive on the global scene,” said Russell Williams, the president of Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies.

The changes were first proposed by the former Liberal government in December 2004, but were not finalized and put into effect until two weeks ago.

Health Minister Tony Clement said in a statement that the new rules will make it easier for cheaper generic versions of brand name drugs to enter the market in a “timely fashion” by setting out clear, enforceable guidelines for market protection rules.