China takes the rise out of Pfizer's Viagra patent
July 8, 2004
Shanghai - China on Thursday defended its decision to overturn Pfizer's patent for Viagra in a ruling seen as a setback to protection of intellectual property rights in the country.
The US makers of the best selling erectile disfunction drug were in breach of Chinas intellectual property law when they failed to accurately explain "technological" uses of Viagra's key ingredient, an official with the State Intellectual Property Office told AFP.
"If you widen the description of the (ingredient's) technological uses, you could likely be violating the patent right of others," the SIPO official said on condition of anonymity.
Although the same office granted Pfizer in 2001 a patent for sildenafil citrate, Viagra's key active ingredient, the official maintained SIPO had the right to revoke the patent.
The official said following approval of sildenafil citrate, more than 10 Chinese companies filed official complaints, forcing the SIPO to review its decision.
"When there are (domestic) requests to invalidate the patent, our review committee should go back to look to it," she said.
"We did grant the patent to Pfizer before, but that does not mean that we are really giving it to you," she said.
The ruling is likely to raise concerns in the United States and the European Union who have been watching the case closely, concerned about intellectual property rights.
According to reports the New York-based Pfizer is likely to take legal action in China, where foreign companies find their products are routinely copied and counterfeits are widespread.
Viagra has been viewed as a test case for the protection of intellectual property in the pharmaceutical industry.
Pfizer plans to introduce up to 15 new medicines in China over the next five years to treat conditions such as neurological and cardiovascular, the Financial Times quoted the company as saying.
"Intellectual property protection is essential to these plans," the company said.
A Viagra pill costs about one yuan (R0.74) to make but Pfizer sells them in China for 98 yuan (about R73) a tablet.
The entry of local producers is likely to see the price drop to 22 yuan (R16) a pill, the price of lookalike domestic products which do not contain Viagra's key ingredient. - AFP
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