Philippines Senate approves IPR code

The Philippines' Senate has approved the final reading of a bill that amends the country's Intellectual Property Code, in an attempt to "make medicine cheaper," according to the Manila Standard Today newspaper.

The three main provisions of the new legislation are: granting the government the power to issues compulsory licenses to loca ldrugs firms, including state-owned, in the event of "public health demands;" legalizing parallel trade; and extending the "alry working" principle that allows generic drugmakers more time to develop copycat drugs in preparation for patent expiry.