In a setback for Gilead Sciences (GILD), Ukrainian authorities have rejected a key patent for the Sovaldi hepatitis C treatment, according to patient advocacy groups that challenged the patent filing. The decision means that lower-cost generic versions of the medicine may become available by 2020, or a decade sooner than if the patent had been awarded.
“This is a very important achievement for Ukrainian patients,” says Sergiy Dmitriev of the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV, which filed the patent challenge. “Thanks to this decision, we expect that the price of medicines may drop three-fold, and for us, this means that three times more patients with hepatitis C will have access to modern drugs.”
A Gilead spokesman wrote us to say the company “strongly defends its intellectual property rights and will be appealing this decision.” The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine could not be reached.
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