[Ip-health] Pfizer first MNC to get HIV drug patent in India

[Jean Blaylock]

Pfizer first MNC to get HIV drug patent in India
P B Jayakumar / Mumbai December 11, 2007
Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=3D10&bKeyFla=
g=3DBO&autono=3D307171&chkFlg=3D


Global drug major Pfizer's new HIV/AIDS drug Celzentry (generic name: Marav=
iroc) has become the first known HIV/AIDS treatment drug to get a patent in=
 India, in a significant development against the backdrop of the patent bat=
tle between multinational drug companies and patient groups in India.

Maraviroc, the first in a new class of oral HIV medicines developed in the =
last ten years and expected to become a major blockbuster HIV/AIDS drug glo=
bally, was granted a patent in India under the Patent Number 204132, based =
on the patent application 885/BOM/1999 filed with the Bombay patent office,=
 informed sources said.

Discovered and developed by Pfizer scientists since 1997, Maraviroc, which =
works by blocking the entry of the virus into human cells, received approva=
l from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only in August 2007, throu=
gh an accelerated regulatory approval process.

One month later, the European Commission gave marketing approval for Maravi=
roc in Europe.

Interestingly, the European Patent Office (EPO) is yet to grant a patent fo=
r Maraviroc, citing insufficient data, sources said.


::table:: LIST OF PRE-GRANT OPPOSITIONS ON KEY HIV/AIDS DRUGS IN INDIA


These were the main reasons cited by the Indian Patent Office for rejecting=
 the patent for the cancer drug Gleevec, which snowballed into a global pat=
ent battle between the Swiss drug major Novartis and the Indian government.

Leaders with the public interest groups expressed surprise at the decision =
of the Indian Patent Office.

"This is a major development and is a harbinger of the availability and pri=
ces of crucial new drugs. We have to evaluate the importance of this drug f=
or HIV patients in India and will decide on the course of action soon," sai=
d Leena Menghaney of Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF), part of the activists=
=92 group.

So far the Indian patient groups have filed about 15 pre-grant oppositions =
for about seven HIV/AIDS drugs of multinational drug companies.

A Pfizer India spokesperson confirmed that Maraviroc has received a patent =
in India and said Pfizer is in the process of complying with necessary regu=
lations for registering Maraviroc in India.

"We are committed to bringing meaningful improvement to the lives of people=
 living with and those at risk of HIV/AIDS through outreach programmes that=
 will enable access of innovative medicines to patients," a statement from =
the company said.




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