Labs Ache Facing Patent Law "Menace"

Brazilian pharmaceutical companies must comply with the country's newlaw on patents from 1997 and there are signs that it will be a traumatic experience for some of the indigenous drug manufacturers. Victor Siaulys, vice president of Laboratorios Ache, describes the new law as "a menace". He says that he does not know what other drug companies do but his company copied everything it could. The availability of products is critical if Ache is to maintain its market position, with 1996 sales of $520 million.

The company plans to launch 12 new drugs this year, compared with nine last year. Each drug that enters the market has a minimum commercial life of five years and Ache has a range of some 80 products at present. The firm, which has a 51% and 41% share respectively of the local operations of Merck Sharp and Dohme and Schering-Plough, plans to emphasize antihypertensive and antirheumatism drugs.