India and drug #patents : The Ghost of #Glivec haunts #Sovaldi

Apothecurry welcomes back guest columnist Dr Kristina Lybecker. Her latest column is an elegantly simple "where the rubber hits the road" exposition of the recent rejection of patents on US biopharma company Gilead's Hepatitis C drug Sovaldi in India. Coincidentally, Gilead's European patent on Sovaldi was challenged yesterday by charity Medicins du Monde marking yet …

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Guest column : Is “evergreening” of drug patents all bad?

A recent article in Health Affairs considers how secondary patenting can extend market exclusivity and delay generic competition.  Amin and Kesselheim examine two key anti-HIV drugs Norvir and Kaletra. Through the analysis of 108 patents, they find generic competition could be delayed for an additional twelve years beyond the expiration of the patents on the …