Pfizer Inc: China Overturns Domestic Patent For Viagra
SIPO will likely issue a statement Thursday on the decision to overturn Pfizer's Viagra patent, a source familiar with the case told Dow Jones Newswires.
Pfizer's Viagra patent problems began when a coalition of domestic pharmaceutical companies, including Hongtaomao Pharmaceutical Co. and Lianxiang Pharmaceutical Co., petitioned SIPO to nullify Pfizer's patent for sildenafil citrate.
The companies launched the patent challenge after SIPO granted Pfizer its Viagra patent in September 2001 on the assertion the patent failed to fulfill the novelty requirement under China's Patent Law.
Under that requirement, a patent can only be granted and upheld if no identical invention has been disclosed in any publication within the country or abroad or been publicly used or made known to the public by any other means within the country.
Pfizer has already lost patent protection for Viagra through similar challenges in South American countries including Colombia and Venezuela.
The domestic challenge to Pfizer's Viagra patent has been closely followed by pharmaceutical companies and other foreign firms concerned about a lack of official action against China's counterfeiters, who produce fakes of everything from watches to computer software.
Numerous counterfeit versions of Viagra are likewise widely available under a variety of names in China's urban centers.
China's December 2001 World Trade Organization agreement includes commitments to enforce and protect intellectual property rights as part of obligations under TRIPS, or trade-related intellectual property.
A foreign diplomat who closely watched the case has warned the U.S. and European Union may retaliate with tariffs aimed at China's domestic pharmaceutical industry if Pfizer lost its Viagra patent.
A series of high-level U.S. officials that have visited China over the past two years have repeatedly raised the Pfizer Viagra patent challenge case with China's leadership.
Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Josette Sheeran Shiner in November called the Pfizer Viagra patent challenge a "particularly troubling" example of China's questionable commitment to intellectual property rights.
中国否决辉瑞对万艾可的中国专利权
辉瑞公司(Pfizer Inc., PFE)周三称，中国国家知识产权局(State Intellectual Property Office)否决了辉瑞就其治疗男性勃起障碍的药物万艾可（又名：伟哥, Viagra）所拥有的中国专利权。
辉瑞公司发表公告称，中国国家知识产权局专利复审委员会推翻了辉瑞2001年对万艾可的主要成分枸橼酸西地那非(sildenafil citrate)的使用所获得的专利权，但公告没有说明复审委员会是何时作出这一决定的。
公告称，辉瑞将就该决定提出上诉，其专利权在问题得到解决前仍然有效。
公告称，辉瑞对这一决定深感失望。
外国制药公司一直将此案视为中国对遵守知识产权国际标准承诺的试金石。
一位了解此案的消息人士向道琼斯透露，国家知识产权局可能于周四就此项决定发表公告。
通化鸿淘茂药业有限公司(Hongtaomao Pharmaceutical Co.)和联想药业(Lianxiang Pharmaceutical Co.)等一些中国制药公司联手要求国家知识产权局宣布辉瑞的枸椽酸西地那非的专利权无效，从而使辉瑞的万艾可遭遇专利问题。
中国国家知识产权局曾于2001年9月批准了辉瑞对万艾可的专利权。此后，中国公司提出专利权异议，理由是该项专利未能满足中国专利法关于专利须具有新颖性的要求。
新颖性是指在申请日以前没有同样的发明或者实用新型在国内外出版物上公开发表过、在国内公开使用过或者以其他方式为公众所知。
辉瑞的万艾可已经因类似异议而在哥伦比亚和委内瑞拉等南美国家丧失专利保护。
中国公司对万艾可专利权提出异议一事备受医药公司和其他外国公司的关注。这些公司担心中国官方对仿造者不采取行动。
这些仿造者仿造从手表到电脑软件的所有物品，各种名称的万艾可仿制品在中国城市也非常普遍。
中国在2001年12月加入世界贸易组织(WTO)的协议中承诺，将根据《与贸易有关的知识产权协议》(TRIP)对知识产权给予保护。
一位密切关注此案的外国外交官表示，如果辉瑞失去万艾可的专利权，美国和欧盟(EU)可能会通过关税手段对中国制药业实施报复。
过去两年中访华的众多美国高级官员再三同中国领导层提及辉瑞的万艾可专利权一案。
美国贸易副代表夏娜(Josette Sheeran Shiner)去年11月称， 万艾可专利权一案是一个特别令人不安的例子，表明中国对保护知识产权的承诺令人质疑。
