No progress for Pharma Patents Review

In his first public comment on the Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report, Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane said he has no plans to release the report or consider responding to any of its recommendations.

Commissioned by the Labor government in October 2012, the aim of the independent review was to “evaluate whether the system for pharmaceutical patents is effectively balancing the objectives of securing timely access to competitively priced pharmaceuticals, fostering innovation and supporting employment in research and industry”.

An expert review panel was appointed and a draft report, which included a number of draft recommendations, was released for comment in April last year.

In his response to a ‘Question in Writing’ from Western Australian MP Melissa Parke, Macfarlane also said, “The Pharmaceutical Patents Review panel delivered its final report to the previous government in May 2013, which did not release the report. As the Pharmaceutical Patents Review was commissioned by the previous government and conducted by an independent panel, the government is not obliged to release the report.”