Us pharmaceutical companies, backed by the bush administration lobby against patent law ammendment in Israel,

"With the support of the Bush administration, US pharmaceutical companies allege that an amendment to Israel’s Patents Law to grant ethical drug companies marketing exclusivity only, instead of information exclusivity, seriously harmed their rights. The US companies also oppose an amendment to the Patents Law passed by the Knesset this week, under which Israel will not extend pharmaceutical patents beyond the period granted by other countries, even if the patent is registered late in Israel."

"The US companies allege that in such cases, they lose on the full five years of patent protection granted to them under the previous practice. Patent extension, they claim, derives from the recognition of the importance of drug development, including development of life-saving drugs. Development of this kind costs $900 million and can take 10-15 years."

Minister of Finance Ehud Olmert "in his meeting with China's trade minister, Olmert asked that China include Israeli companies in tender offers for infrastructure, water (desalination / reclamation / purification) and telecommunications. This, in light of Israel answering China's request to recognize it as a market economy, a measure required to aid China's integration into the global economy."

posted by carlos soto on 12/16/2005 12:12:00 AM
permalink: Us pharmaceutical companies, backed by the bush administration lobby against patent law ammendment in Israel,