http://blog.pharmtech.com/2010/01/13/ec-scrutinises-patent-settlements/ The blog of Pharmaceutical Technology magazine Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:25:13 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://blog.pharmtech.com/2010/01/13/ec-scrutinises-patent-settlements/comment-page-1/#comment-28491 cliffintokyo Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:43:25 +0000 http://blog.pharmtech.com/?p=2414#comment-28491 As all EU member states have some kind of universal healthcare insurance, one underlying issue that we can probably assume might be of concern would be projected increased costs to a government/insurer due to the delayed introduction of cheaper generic versions of frequently prescribed drugs. If these projected costs are not a significant percentage of a national healthcare budget in practice, or for the foreseeable future, then the pharma companies would be well within their rights to view the investigation of patent settlements as over-reaching political meddling in their business affairs and should be considering joint litigation on the grounds of unlawful restriction of their freedom to engage in business, or something along these lines (I am not a lawyer, or familiar with the possibilities under EU laws). Is Brussels really so intent on killing the goose? As all EU member states have some kind of universal healthcare insurance, one underlying issue that we can probably assume might be of concern would be projected increased costs to a government/insurer due to the delayed introduction of cheaper generic versions of frequently prescribed drugs.
If these projected costs are not a significant percentage of a national healthcare budget in practice, or for the foreseeable future, then the pharma companies would be well within their rights to view the investigation of patent settlements as over-reaching political meddling in their business affairs and should be considering joint litigation on the grounds of unlawful restriction of their freedom to engage in business, or something along these lines (I am not a lawyer, or familiar with the possibilities under EU laws).
Is Brussels really so intent on killing the goose?

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