Pharma patent review releases discussion paper

Last month, the Federal Government announced a review into the patenting of pharmaceuticals in Australia, when it appointed an expert panel to review the “appropriateness of the extension arrangements for pharmaceutical patents.” The panel has now released a Background and Suggested Issues Paper.

The review will 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. A particular focus of the review will be the extension of term provisions.

The review panel members are:

• Mr Tony Harris, former NSW Auditor-General and Parliamentary Budget Officer, as Chair;
• Professor Dianne Nicol, Associate Dean, Research, Law Faculty at the University of Tasmania; and
• Dr Nicholas Gruen, CEO of Lateral Economics.

Written submissions to the review are invited by IP Australia and due on 21 January 2012. Interested parties are also invited to contribute to the review by commenting on the blog, where the review panel will be posting topics and papers on the blog for further discussion during the review.

For further information about the review, visit the website above. Comment from AusBiotech members may be contributed to Lorraine Chiroiu or (03) 9828 1414.