Global drugmakers' fears over IP rights protection in Russia

The register of patents for drugs that are currently created in Russia by an initiative of the country’s Ministry of Economy will not allow drugmakers to effectively protect their intellectual property (IP), according to recent statements by representatives of foreign pharmaceutical companies operating in the local market, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

So far, foreign pharmaceutical companies operating in Russia have criticized the draft federal law on the creation of a register of pharmaceutical patents, which was proposed by the Ministry of Economy. The corresponding letter to the department, as well as to the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, was sent by two main trade associations - the Association of Foreign Pharmaceutical Manufacturers "Infarma" and the Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (AIPM).

The draft law “On the register of active ingredients with pharmacological activity protected by patents for inventions” was presented to the industry on September 16 and was a reaction to numerous statements of foreign drugmakers that Russian legislation does not sufficiently protect patents for the production of drugs.