26 April 2003

This information is provided courtesy of Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free on-line information service.

www.law-now.com

Supplementary protection certificates for combination drug therapy

It is possible in certain circumstances to extend the
duration of patent protection for a medicinal product
by a period of up to five years by applying for a
Supplementary Protection Certificate ("SPC"). The aim
of a SPC is to compensate the patent owner for the
time lost, in terms of patent protection, in conducting
lengthy clinical trials and obtaining market
authorisation.

In the recent case of Takeda Chemical Industries -v-
Comptroller General of the Patent Office ([2003]
EWHC 649 (Pat), the court rejected an application for a SPC
for a combination drug therapy where only a basic
product patent covering one active ingredient existed.

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For further information, please contact
Stephen Whybrow by telephone on +44 (0) 20 7367 2175
or by e-mail stephen.whybrow@cmck.com,
or Nick Beckett by telephone on +44 (0) 20 7367 2490
or by e-mail at nick.beckett@cmck.com,
or Aasim Qureshi by telephone on +44 (0) 20 7367 3620
or by email at aasim.qureshi@cmck.com.