The world's largest drug maker, Pfizer Inc, has won the right to
be the only seller in China of its impotency drug Viagra, putting
an end to a dozen Chinese companies selling cheaper versions of it.
A Beijing court overturned a 2004 decision by China's patent
review board that permitted Chinese drug makers to sell copies,
Pfizer spokesman Paul Fitzhenry said Saturday. The ruling may be of
wider significance to New York-based Pfizer because it could mean
better patent protection for the 20 drugs it plans to be selling in
China by 2010, he added.
"We see the decision as an encouraging development for
knowledge-based companies like Pfizer who want to bring innovative
products to the Chinese market," he said.
Viagra is one of the world's most counterfeited drugs, according
to the World Health Organization. It was used by 23 million men
last year with worldwide sales of US$1.6 billion.
Counterfeit drugs are an increasing problem in the United States
and internationally. The number of cases investigated by the US
Food and Drug Administration jumped to 58 in 2005 from six in
2000.
About 8 percent to 10 percent of the world's medical supplies
are made up of counterfeit products, according to FDA Deputy
Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. The World Health Organization
estimates that about US$35 billion in counterfeit drugs are sold
each year.
"The result is risks to patients' health," Gottlieb said.
"Either risk to their safety directly if the products are dangerous
or risks for people suffering complications from the many diseases
that prescription drugs can treat today. So this is a serious
concern at FDA and it’s a serious threat to public health.”
In the US the FDA plans to announce new actions to prevent the
sale of counterfeit drugs. The agency has unsuccessfully tried
since 2004 to get companies to put tiny electronic chips on drug
packages which would allow pills to be tracked from the assembly
line to the pharmacy, Gottlieb said.
(Shanghai Daily June 5, 2006)