Global drugmakers raise concerns on complex situation for protection of IP rights in Russia

The protection of intellectual property (IP) rights of foreign pharmaceutical companies in Russia remains complex situation, according to recent statements by Konstantin Panurovsky, legal director of AstraZeneca’s (LSE: AZN) Russian subsidiary, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

Mr Panurovsky said in an interview with the Russian Kommersant business paper that generic manufacturers continue to take advantage of existing loopholes in the Russian legislation. According to him, in the last 12 months the number of violations of patent rights of original producers by Russian generics’ manufacturers has only increased.

Mr Panurovsky comments: “According to our observations, over the past year, there have been more such conflicts. In 2024, AstraZeneca alone faced two cases of generic versions of the company's drugs being introduced into market, despite the existence of valid patents on them. We are talking about the diabetes treatment drug Forxiga (dapagliflozin), the patent for which is valid until 2028, and the antitumor drug Tagrisso (osimertinib), which is protected until 2032.”