Lib Dems Welcome Pharma Crackdown

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 17th Jan 2008

Sharon Bowles MEP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Competition and Intellectual Property has today welcomed the European Commission's sectoral inquiry into the pharmaceutical industry.

Sharon Bowles said "Although any sectoral inquiry stresses that sector it is about time the rumours stopped and a better understanding of what is and is not the situation becomes known. I am glad it also covers generic companies because too often pharma are painted as 'greedy', forgetting they do all the research and development, and generics as 'good', forgetting they copy drugs developed by others and do none of the research that brings new products to market.

"The European pharma sector is already under stress with falling productivity and faces increased competition from developing countries, and China in particular, where there is vast state investment in expensive equipment such as molecular analysers that are fundamental to development of new drugs.

"I have absolutely no doubt that patents are necessary in order to protect and encourage the pharma research base. It is also fair that once patents expire there should still be some significant and useful market time available for others. In some circumstances extensions of time are fair if a drug was late to market because the whole research base (including all the unsuccessful research) has to be paid for from the profits on the successful drugs.

"On the other hand if companies eke out their best lines by delaying development or marketing of a new replacement drug until expiry of protection of a prior drug that would not be helpful to society. We need to know if this happens or if it is just suspicion, and what would happen to the viability of companies if such practices are stopped."

ENDS