Once again, Gilead Sciences is facing a challenge to a European patent over its Sovaldi hepatitis C treatment, which is a building block for subsequent medicines the drug maker has launched.
The latest challenge was filed by various groups, led by Medecins du Monde and Doctors Without Borders, that claim the patent is not warranted under European laws. Specifically, the groups maintain the base compound is not inventive, which is a way of saying the patent is not sufficiently unique that someone else could not have created it.
The groups took this action because they argue the pricing Gilead charges for its hepatitis C medicines “bar[s] the way to full access,” according to a statement from Medecins du Monde, which separately challenged a Sovaldi patent two years ago. Last fall, the European Patent Office amended the patent after deciding some Gilead claims were no longer admissible and were, therefore, changed. The Sovaldi patents expire in 2028.
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Hi Ed, big fan of your work. It would be great if in instances like this we could get a link to the patent(s) as well (or at least the patent numbers/identifiers). Maybe it’s here and I’m just missing it though. Thanks.
Eh, found it. You can disregard the above.