BEIJING, June 8 -- Chinese drug makers that were barred from producing cheap copies of Viagra under a court ruling last week are likely to appeal the decision, a lawyer said Wednesday.
"The ruling was unexpected, and we will decide whether to take the matter to a higher court by next week," said Wang Wei, an attorney at the Beijing Huake patent law firm, which represents the 12 Chinese drug makers involved in the suit.
"It's very likely we will appeal."
New York-based Pfizer Inc won exclusive sales rights in China for its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra as the result of a ruling by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.
The verdict overturned a decision by the State Intellectual Property Office in 2004 to revoke Chinese patent rights for sildenafil citrate, the main ingredient in Viagra.
"The patent office and the court hold different opinions on the facts," Wang said. "We still think we have a chance."
China's patent authority granted the Viagra patent to Pfizer in September 2001. But the office reconsidered its decision after an alliance of 12 Chinese pharmaceutical firms filed a petition to nullify the patent for the chief ingredient.
Authorities voided the patent in 2004, claiming the clarity of Viagra's patent description failed to contain enough technical information.
Meanwhile, the State Food and Drug Administration gave several Chinese pharmaceutical companies certification to produce anti-impotency pills using sildenafil citrate but later withheld production permits because of the legal conflict.
"It's still too early to say what we will do about the court ruling; top officials are studying the situation," said a spokesperson for Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Co, one of the firms that holds a certificate to produce the Viagra-like medicine.
"We think it's unreasonable for the FDA to withhold production permits."
Pfizer China spokeswoman Feng Danlong said the ruling means better patent protection for the US company in China. Feng also said Pfizer will not give production licenses to Chinese pharmaceutical firms to produce Viagra.
China's erectile-dysfunction drug market, which is valued at 60 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion) a year, has attracted both foreign and domestic pharmaceutical companies.
Bayer AG and Eli Lilly & Co have brought their own anti-impotency drugs to the Chinese market in the past two years.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)
