Finish Pharma slams govt move for generics on patented drugs

Finland is a country well-known for its innovation incentives extensively supported through public funds. However, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has now come up with a full patent policy turnabout in relation to the medicines reference price system: the Ministry wants to extend generic substitution to medicines which are still covered by a valid patent, says the trade body Pharma Industry Finland. This change of heart is not only contrary to the principles of generic substitution introduced in 2003, but also ignores the pivotal role played by the patents in innovation policy, warns the PIF.

The majority of the patented medicines available on the Finnish market are protected by the analogous process patent. The intellectual property protection can be circumvented by synthesising the pharmaceutical substances through a process different from the one used by the original developer of the medicine. Consequently, there are generics on the Finnish market, alongside the original medicines still covered by a patent, it explains.

Finland cited by USTR