The TAC National Council has resolved to seek admission in a legal dispute between the brand name drug company Aventis Pharma and the generic company Cipla, over a claim of patent infringement on a drug that treats cancer called Docetaxel. SECTION27 will act as attorneys for TAC. This briefing note sets out the background to […]
READ MOREThe South African government recently announced plans to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in partnership with the Swiss based company Lonza Ltd. APIs are the active ingredients that are used to produce medicines. Medicines also contain inactive ingredients called excipients. South Africa has a relatively large and competitive generic pharmaceutical industry made up of a […]
READ MOREEarly this month, India issued its first ever compulsory license, for generic manufacture and sale of Sorafenib (brand name: Nexavar). Bayer was granted a patent on Sorafenib in India in 2008. After unsuccessfully negotiating with Bayer for a voluntary license, generic pharmaceutical company Natco Pharma Ltd applied for a compulsory license in July 2011. The Indian […]
READ MOREEsomeprazole highlights how South Africa’s medical schemes are paying the price for the country’s strict protection of intellectual property, coupled with weak standards of patentability. South Africa should amend its Patents Act to explicitly exclude new formulation medicines from patentability in order to reduce the cost of medicines. Additionally the fact that Esomeprazole retains market […]
READ MOREA critique of South Africa’s patent laws was published in the February 2012 issue of South African magazine Noseweek. The article further highlighted how our laws have allowed pharmaceutical giant Bayer to block generic versions of Yasmin from entering the market, retaining their monopoly on the popular birth control tablets. Read the article at http://www.noseweek.co.za/article/2678/Patent-trickery
READ MOREGlobally, South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV. Yet many antiretroviral medicines, including the medicines used to treat people failing on 2nd line antiretroviral therapy, are not provided in the public sector. 3rd line medicine are expensive as they are under patent and no generic versions of these medicines are available. […]
READ MORETAC and MSF will host workshops for journalists on intellectual property and medicine access on 26 March in Cape Town and 28 March in Johannesburg. Further details are available here If you are a journalist and interested in attending the workshop, please contact catherine.tomlinson@tac.org.za
READ MOREFollowing an outcry by international civil society about the organisation and programme for the upcoming Africa IP Forum (see details below), individuals that had registered to attend the meeting received notice that the Forum has been postponed. TAC received the email posted below on 24 February: “Dear Delegates, The Africa Intellectual Property Forum organizers would […]
READ MOREIn the open letter to the Department of Trade and Industry below, we request a meeting with Minister Rob Davies to discuss (1) South Africa’s IP policy; (2) amendments that South Africa can make to its laws to facilitate access to more affordable generic medicines; and, (3) our concerns around the upcoming Africa IP Summit. […]
READ MORESouth Africa is currently developing a policy for intellectual property protection in the country. On 19 August 2011 it was reported that Jodi Scholtz, group COO of the DTI stated: “The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) intends to submit the Intellectual Property (IP) draft policy to Cabinet next month to secure approval to undertake […]
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