Negotiations are scheduled to resume this week in Geneva on proposals made in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to extend patent protection for pharmaceuticals from ten to 20 years in all 108 GATT signatory states, including Canada, the only western nation still operating a compulsory licensing system for pharmaceutical products.
Canada's negotiators in Geneva have come under constant pressure during the talks to step into line with the rest of the industrialized nations on the levels of patent protection which it is prepared to offer. However, health care officials and consumer groups in the country are dismayed by these developments, believing that the destruction of this system which would result from Canada's adoption of 20-year cover would create monopolies for the multinational pharmaceutical companies, forcing the generic manufacturers out of business and increasing the prices of drugs to the consumer.
The 20-year cover proposal, which has been put forward by GATT director-general Arthur Dunkel, is being regarded as an attempt to break the year-long deadlock over Canada's record on drug patent protection which has bedevilled the current five-year Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations.
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
7 day trial access
Become a subscriber
Or £77 per month
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze