Strengthen IP to reposition Australia as a global leader, says Medicines Australia chief to government

The chief executive of Medicines Australia has called for a strengthening of Australia’s intellectual property system in order to restore the country’s place as a global biotech and pharma leader.

Speaking at a Parliamentary Friends of Medicines event, Tim James called on the Australian government to rethink its IP framework. He said: “IP is at the heart of innovation, and protecting it is critical for future economic growth in Australia. For a modern, knowledge-based economy like Australia’s, IP is a particularly valuable commodity, currently worth an estimated A$250 billion ($213 billion) to the economy, or nearly a fifth of the nation’s GDP.”

He cites the fact Australia offers only five years of data exclusivity, which prevents imitators from relying on data generated by research-based pharma companies to obtain marketing approval for equivalent products, but that the market has moved on since 1998. Most developed countries, he said, offer between eight and 12 years.