C-22 AND C-91 HAVE SURPASSED PROMISES SAYS PMAC

Bill C-91, which introduced Canadian patent reform (Marketletters passim), was passed in order for the country's government to comply with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the North American Free Trade Agreement "and in this context our industry was extremely pleased that the government had moved in that direction and brought patent protection within the Canadian system in line with the international system," Judy Erola, president of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association of Canada told the Marketletter last week in an exclusive interview.

She was responding to recent comments by Brenda Drinkwalter, president of the Canadian Drug Manufacturers' Association, which represents the industry (Marketletter June 20).

Ms Erola said that this was the only way to have Canadian companies compete on an even basis on R&D and all of those things that are important to a home-grown fully-integrated pharmaceutical industry. The brand-name drug industry agreed to invest 10% of sales in R&D by 1996 as part of the C-91 negotiations.