Brazil to bypass patent for ARV drug Viread

The Brazilian government has taken the first step towards circumventing the patent for US drugmaker Gilead Sciences' antiretroviral drug Viread (tenofovir), according to IP Watch. A technical opinion published in the Revista de Propriedade Industrial by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) stated that the application for Viread was in contravention of Articles 8, 10 (VIII), 13, 24 and 25 of Brazil's patent law (9279/96).

The country's public health care system offers the ARV to 30,000 patients and is an attractive target for switching to non-branded suppliers, with one Indian generic drugmaker offering tenofovir for $170 per patient per year, instead of the $1,387 paid out by the Brazilian authorities for Gilead's product. The Health Ministry estimates the potential annual savings at about $30.0 million.

Gilead was given 90 days from April 8 to lodge an appeal against the INPI's decision. The Brazilian government's move follows a recent action by the US Patent and Trademark Office to tentatively nullify four of the firm's Viread patents (Marketletter February 4). A re-examination request had been made by a New York-based consumer advocacy group, the Public Patent Foundation, on the grounds that technology used to make the drug was already in the public domain.