The IP Battle Between Two Drug Titans Heats Up
By: Ainsley Brown
The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has launched suit in the English High Court against Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) claiming that GSK has violated its intellectual property.
This new action is far from being the opening salvos of this drug war; the two have already locked horns over the same matter. GSK last year sued Novartis in both England and Belgium – the outcomes of which are yet to be decided – in an attempt to get Novartis’ patent revoked. Now interestingly enough Novartis rather than launching a counter claim has chose to bring a fresh action before the English courts.
All a bit confusing isn’t it? Don’t worry, I was confused at first myself – let me break it down for you.
This saga is more than just about patent protection or even brand protection, both of which are of great importance in and of themselves. No! This is about much more. This story goes far beyond that to include commercial awareness; business strategy; profitability; and continued sustainability.
No my friends this is no exaggeration. What this story is reveals is the growing importance of vaccines to big pharma. Yes, vaccines.
Vaccines have become the new life blood for the drug giants as they have increasingly moved away from blockbuster big name magic pills to a more diversified portfolio. This diversification has included a soften stance on generic drugs – going as far as either doing it themselves or entering into joint ventures with smaller specialist generic makers – and consumer goods. However, the cornerstone of the diversification has been a move back into the steady income generation of vaccines with investments being made in new and old diseases alike.
At the heart of this battle are a set of vaccines used to prevent childhood diseases such as meningitis. More specifically, the techniques used in making these said vaccines. According to GSK it registered its patents covering such techniques as far back as 1981 and therefore beats the Novartis patent by being the first to register. As aforementioned, GSK launched suit in both England and Belgium in an attempt to get what it claims as Novartis’ weak patent revoked. In response Novartis launched suit against two GSK subsidiaries – Smithkline Beecham and GSK Biologicals – claiming that not only is its patent firmly placed but that GSK was the one infringing on its intellectual property.
It will definitely be interesting to watch this clash between these two Titians unfold.
