India
Roche gets hepatitis drug (Pegasys) patent in India
By IANS
Mar 6, 2006, 17:00

Roche India Pvt Ltd, the Indian arm of Swiss drugmaker F. Hoffmann La Roche, Friday received a product patent for its new generation hepatitis therapy Pegasys.


"Pegasys is the result of a decade long research by Roche and the patent approval marks a major landmark for the company," said a company statement quoting Girish Telang, managing director of Roche.

The patent would be valid for 20 years from May 15, 1997 and effectively means that no other company will be allowed to launch a generic version of the drug. However, those drugs introduced prior to January 2005 are under no threat.

Roche said it was the first pharmaceutical company to receive the product patent under India's new patent regime.

Telang said the development would pave the way for increased investments in research and development towards drug development efforts. The company claims that the drug would provide Hepatitis-C patients a better treatment option.

Hepatitis C is a highly critical liver disease and over 10 million people are suffering from the disease in India.

The product patent has been granted by the government's patent office and Roche had applied for it under the World Trade Organisation rules for post-1995 inventions.


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