Russia is being asked to review patent requirements for foreign medicines

Promomed: Russian Federation asks to review patent requirements for foreign medicines

GELENDZHIK, October 6 - RIA Novosti. Russian pharmaceutical manufacturers are asking the Intellectual Property Council to review patent requirements for foreign medicines due to unfair settlements against Russian manufacturers abroad, said Peter Bely, head of the pharmaceutical company Promomed, at the Bioprom forum."Our intellectual property is not protected abroad in any way, and we have well-protected foreign pharmaceutical property, and at the same time there are no liability measures for abuse of the right resulting from obtaining a patent," said Bely.

"We will apply for a legislative initiative, we ask you to consider it at the next Intellectual Property Council under the leadership of Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko and give progress to the consideration of this, in general, blatant discrepancy between approaches to the domestic industry and foreign," he explained.

The volume of innovation activity of foreign companies related to the registration of new drugs in Russia tends to zero, Promomed recalled.

According to open source data, the number of clinical trials conducted in Russia has decreased by more than 15 times, the company explained to reporters. "If more than 300 such studies were conducted in the country in 2021, then in 2024 there will be only 24. This makes it impossible to register in our country the latest drugs that are already appearing abroad," Promomed said.

Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate any barriers to the dissemination of modern innovative therapeutics, and the improvement of patent regulation will be one of the key conditions for ensuring Russia's drug independence.

During the Bioprom session, experts also noted that for fair competition, it is necessary to introduce liability for patent abuse - monopolization with annulled patents - and encourage patent verification by manufacturers of analogues.

"Testing the strength of patents and supporting companies that seek to eliminate illegal monopolies is the best global practice. It stimulates fair competition, reduces prices and increases the availability of modern therapy for patients," said Bely.

According to him, it has been estimated in the United States that unfair competition in the pharmaceutical industry leads to consumers and taxpayers overpaying billions of dollars for medicines every year. "We must recognize that it is very important for society that there are companies that take risks and spend resources testing patents and trying to revoke them," he added.

And those whose patents were eventually annulled, who illegally monopolized the market, should be held accountable, the head of Promomed believes. "We must provide for liability for illegal monopolization of the market as a mirror measure of responsibility for violations. And these rules should be defined at the legislative level," he concluded.

In response to the speech of the head of Promomed, Inna Svyatenko, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, noted: the time has come when we need to talk less and do more.

"It seems to me that we have already worked on this topic from all sides, and now some specific solutions are important. Therefore, we will definitely work together," the senator said.

Promomed company specializes in drugs used to fight infections, as well as in the field of endocrinology, neurology, oncology, and general therapy. The company's product portfolio includes more than 350 medicines, 80% of which are included in the list of vital and essential products. The main production site of the company is the Biochemist plant in Saransk.

1. RIA News