Posted on 03/05/2020 1:57:43 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Gilead Sciences’ experimental remdesivir has emerged as the most promising candidate against the deadly pathogen. But its patent in China has also drawn some unexpected confusion.
The Chinese pharma BrightGene has successfully copied remdesivir, the company said in a disclosure (PDF, Chinese) to China’s Nasdaq-style Star market on Wednesday.
What's more, the Suzhou-based firm said it has already mass-produced remdesivir's active ingredient and is in the process of turning it into finished doses. The company’s stock jumped 20% at the news, hitting the daily price move cap allowed on the exchange.
BrightGene doesn’t seem to plan to bypass Gilead entirely, though. The company made clear the generic version is still in an R&D phase, and that its final marketing requires permission from the patent holder, Gilead.
In an interview with China’s business news publication Jiemian, BrightGene's board secretary explained that there isn’t any patent infringement issue at this point because it’s not selling the product. But manufacturing a copycat to a patent-protected med at scale without any license is an unusual move that could revive concerns about the protection of intellectual property in the country.
IP protection in China has long been criticized by the Western world and was cited as a reason behind the latest trade war President Donald Trump waged against the country. As part of the first phase of a broader trade deal (PDF), the White House recently signed with Beijing to resolve the dispute, China has promised to implement some American-style enforcement of drug patent rights. These include allowing for a preliminary injunction against a generic maker amid a patent fight.
(Excerpt) Read more at fiercepharma.com ...
This is no time to complain about IP theft, but China, you owe us one.
Theft is theft. Period.
This would be another excellent occasion to up the trade war with China.
Dang....what do they not steal, of ours?
Even making a milligram is patent infringement without a Trips 31 license.
amen. plus I OWN GILD; the last thing I need as an American investor is someone stealing my money. those at FR that condone this shit perpetuate evil
Boy I don’t mean to sound cold but I disagree.
It would take VERY LITTLE TIME to reach some kind of emergency agreement with the Company and even the chinese govt can pay them a fortune for the rights.
But something LEGAL must be the final result.
China can probably skip all of those pesky clinical trials, too.
Just remember that China is like that nice gal you take out once who takes your money and leaves you needing a trip to the doctor for one (or more) of THOSE diseases. You know, the kind that scares the Hell out of penicillin.
Then the witch OWNS you when she threatens to tell everyone YOU gave Her the itching burning dripping drooling whatever.
China is like that.
The worst mistake Nixon made.
“Theft is theft. Period.”
China just has to call it “efficient infringement” like our big tech firms have been doing for a decade or two, and the theft issue vanishes, apparently. At least if you’re big and rich enough to game the court system. Apple is the world champ at this.
https://cpip.gmu.edu/2017/05/11/explaining-efficient-infringement/
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/10/25/efficient-infringement-arrived-hill/id=74131/
They can call it by any name they want, but the action is still the same. And they will be the first to complain when someone else does it to them.
You read my biography on facebook?
Yeah for decades people thought it was the BEST thing he did.
Including me.
Turns out letting people make more money seems to have NO correlation to giving them more freedom.
Just got to ask.
How many people of Chinese heritage are working in Gilead Sciences’ labs?
Just got to ask.
How many people of Chinese heritage are working in Gilead Sciences’ labs?
Efficient infringement is the calculation that stealing and then fighting it out in court is cheaper than paying what you owe.
Done properly the court battles will drag out for a decade and bankrupt any small patent owner. Then you owe nothing but your legal fees, which were already known.
Big tech firms and their lawyers have been holding seminars on how to do this for years. No one even bothers to hide it. There is no penalty for theft if you are big enough. American patents long ago ceased being the gold standard.
Honesty, morals, ethics, compassion, fairness...
That figures. 25% tariff on ALL their goods, NOW! (I hope you’re reading this, Mr. President!)
I am aware of what efficient infringement is and how it is used. The fact that the court system has been corrupted to allow this form of theft to occur does not change the fact that is is still theft. Unfortunately, money makes anything easier to swallow, especially in large quantities.
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