GENERIC COs ABUSE PATENTS SAYS PMAC

First-quarter sales figures for 1994 have just been announced for the Canadian drug industry revealing that the generic drug sector achieved growth of 19.5%, and that the brand name drug industry had a decline in sales in the first quarter of 0.9%.

Judy Erola, president of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Canada told the Marketletter: "I don't know what the beef of the generic industry is? The generic industry in Canada is an oligopoly dominated by Apotex and Novopharm. Their sales alone top any one of the innovative companies' sales. Also, many of the other companies are subsidiaries of major generic companies."

Ms Erola said that she is surprised by comments coming from the generics industry, particularly in relation to C-91, the country's patent reform law which extends patent protection from 17 to 20 years, and the generic industry's position regarding court cases challenging patents.