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May, 2010

In April, Ecuador released a patent for the first time. Official laboratory criticizes lack of incentives

In November last year, President Rafael Correa ordered by decree to expedite compulsory licenses in the country for the importation, manufacture and sale of products and procedures that are protected with patent.

In April, after three months of paperwork, the Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property (IEPI) granted the first compulsory license in the country, in favor of the pharmaceutical manufacturer Cipla, from India, whose distributor in the country is the Eske group. Thus, the laboratory can produce Ritonavir, an antiretroviral used in the treatment of HIV.

However, this measure did not please at all to the North American laboratory Abbot, owner of the patent. With an international communiqué, the laboratory said that compulsory licenses discourage investment and alleged that Cipla is paying a very low compensation to Abbot for producing the generic of Ritonavir.

Nevertheless, for the president of the IEPI, Andrés Ycaza, to grant the license improves costs. "The point is there are more competitors and, therefore, the costs of medicines are cheaper", he remarked.

Rodrigo Tobar, head of the National HIV program of the Ministry of Health, informed that $6 million per year are invested to buy treatment for this disease, and that this license will be a saving.

However, Abbot said he fears for the quality of generic drugs, since many laboratories do not have the capacity to create quality medicines as the original.

Abbot Representatives in Ecuador chose not to react on this subject, until deciding which measures are to be taken by the laboratory.

In addition, despite for the intellectual property specialist Francisco Pérez Gangotena, there is not risk that Abbot lodges an action against Ecuador, because the act was in accordance with the legal norms, the laboratory may impugn the license, thus causing this to be revoked.

The licensing process.

In Ecuador, the HIV medications are not the only on which a compulsory license may be requested; it can be done on any medications used for catastrophic diseases.

According with Ycaza, other laboratories have already requested the license for medications used against cancer. According with the assistant director of the Eugenio Espejo Hospital, Santiago Echeverría, this is beneficial for patients covered by the Social Protection Program (PPS).

Any national or foreign laboratory may request a license, upon fulfillment of the instructions given by the IEPI, and the certificate from the Ministry of health.