Patent Infringement Disputes between Local and Foreign Drug Makers.　MOEA Urges Establishment of TWD300 Million Litigation Fund.

Many European, American and Japanese drug makers continually file complaints for patent infringement against local drug makers.  Local drug makers also start to take measures countering these complaints.  Drugs involved in these patent lawsuits have a market value of over TWD2 billion.  One biotechnology company indicates that foreign generic drug makers use justifications such as asserting protections over “pharmaceutical patent rights” and “copyright on package inserts” to file complaints against local drug makers in order to extend their monopoly in the Taiwan market after the validity term of their pharmaceutical patents issued end.  Foreign drug makers also try to delay the launch of locally made generic drugs by bringing lawsuits against local generic drug makers.

Local drug makers are not competitive in terms of size when comparing with that of foreign drug makers.  Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries Program Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) suggests that the government authority should support local drug makers by establishing a “litigation fund” with fund size of around TWD300 million.  The purpose of the fund is to satisfy the payment of security bond made by local drug makers to the court for withdrawing the execution of preliminary injunction.  (2008.8)
/DC