24 August 2017Asia

Pfizer pneumonia patent approved in blow to MSF

The Indian Patent Office has approved pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s application to patent its Prevenar 13 (pneumococcal 7-valent conjugate) drug, despite claims by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) that it is too obvious.

Prevenar 13 covers a pneumococcal vaccine that treats illnesses such as pneumonia, blood poisoning and meningitis caused by 13 extracts of streptococcus pneumonia bacteria.

Pfizer filed its application, via subsidiary Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, in 2007 and the patent is due to expire in 2026.

Leena Menghaney, south Asia head of MSF Access Campaign, said: “The method Pfizer is trying to patent is too obvious to deserve a patent under India law, and is just a way to guarantee an extended market monopoly for the corporation for many years to come.”

MSF lodged a complaint against Pfizer’s application in March 2016. A similar application covering the vaccine was revoked in Europe and is facing challenges in both South Korea and the US, according to the organisation. Generics manufacturer Panacea Biotec lists pneumococcal conjugate CRM vaccine as a product in its pipeline.

A spokesperson for Pfizer said each dose of the vaccine requires 400 different raw materials, 580 manufacturing steps, 678 quality tests and two and a half years to produce.

"This vaccine was launched in India in 2010. In its multi-dose vial presentation, this vaccine has been included in the expansion of India’s public immunisation programme in select states under the GAVI funded platform. Pfizer remains committed towards further enhancing access of this vaccine in India, both in the market as well as through partnership with the government to expand introduction in the public programme."


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