Patents

Labour Party’s compulsory licensing plans would ‘undermine’ medicines development, says pharmaceutical industry

Compulsory licensing to secure generic versions of patented medicines would “completely undermine” medicines development, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has said in its response to plans announced by Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party.…

Preparing for the big biologic switch

With blockbuster biologic adalimumab coming off patent in October 2018, pharmacists should be ready to switch patients to the best-value biologic as alternatives become available.…

Prescribing rules for generic pregabalin to change from July

NHS England has announced that from 17 July 2017 doctors can prescribe generic pregabalin for neuropathic pain, replacing its March 2015 advice that recommended prescribing only brand name Lyrica (Pfizer) for the condition.…

Access to Medicine Index says industry is making ‘moderate progress’

A total of 2 billion people worldwide cannot get the medicines they need despite “moderate progress” by industry to improve access over the past two years, according to the latest Access to Medicine Index.…

Pfizer loses appeal in patent case concerning Lyrica use in pain relief

The Court of Appeal in London ruled on 13 October 2016 that it has upheld last year’s High Court decision that the patent covering Lyrica for pain relief has not been infringed by generic drug manufacturers Actavis and Mylan.  The drug’s manufacturer, Pfizer, says that it will…

Four NHS geographic committees to be set up to appraise drugs across England

Four regional medicines optimisation committees will be set up across England to reduce the duplication of drug evaluation in the NHS. …

GSK’s open door policy on patents could catch on

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced plans to allow some of the poorest countries in the world to reproduce its inventions without paying royalties in a move to try and make its products more accessible. Described as a ‘graduated’ approach to intellectual property, GSK say…

Growth in GP workload exposed by King’s Fund report

The number of patient consultations in general practice has increased by 15% over the last five years, three times greater than the increase in general practitioners, an analysis on the extent of the crisis facing general practice by the King’s Fund has revealed.…

GSK softens approach to patents to widen access to its medicines

GlaxoSmithKline has announced a series of measures designed to widen access to its medicines in the world’s poorest countries.…

GSK fined £37.6m for ‘pay-for-delay’ paroxetine deals

GlaxoSmithKline has been fined £37.6m for entering into deals that delayed the entry of generic versions of its ‘blockbuster’ antidepressant Seroxat (paroxetine) into the UK market.…