I find the use of intellectual properties to limit access to pharmaceutical drugs extremely interesting, particularly in face of international agreements such as the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
Recently, pharmaceutical companies Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Novo Nordisk settled a patent dispute over Ozempic, the popular weight loss drug indicated for type 2 diabetes. The settlement follows a 2022 lawsuit by Novo Nordisk against Mylan Pharmaceuticals in response to an abbreviated New Drug Application for a generic version of Ozempic.
In its lawsuit, Novo alleged that Mylan’s application for a generic version of Ozempic violated dozens of patents. Unfortunately, the settlement details are undisclosed, so the status of generic Ozempic hangs in limbo.
Back in September, the CEO of Novo was called to answer questions by the US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee on the high costs of Ozempic. Specifically, the Nova CEO was questioned why Ozempic costs Americans $969 per month while Canadians pay $155 a month and Germans $59 per month. The spat with Mylan over a potential generic version of Ozempic follows a recent study that found Ozempic could be manufactured at significantly lower cost.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming years surrounding generic Ozempic and the patent protections of what are often life-saving drugs.
Article on the settlement of patent dispute between Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Novo Nordisk: https://www.biospace.com/policy/novo-viatris-settle-ozempic-patent-row
Article on CEO of Novo Nordisk’s US Senate hearing: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ozempic-wegovy-price-novo-nordisk-senate-committee-hearing
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