The news follows the announcement by Colombia’s MinSalud in September 2016 that it was going to enforce a declaration of public interest and cut the prices for Glivec, also known as Gleevec, in Colombia [1].

The move follows the recommendation by a committee of the MinSalud that a compulsory licence be issued for Glivec in order to ‘restore competition for this product in the Colombian market,’ and to bring ‘financial sustainability to the health system’ [1].

This is the first time that Colombia has declared a patent of public interest and reduced the price of a drug. In this case the price of Glivec will be reduced from 368 pesos per milligram to 206.42 pesos per milligram.

Colombia’s MinSalud and Novartis had been in negotiations to reduce the price of Glivec. Novartis charges more than double the nation’s per capita income to treat a patient with Glivec for one year. However, negotiations failed and were abandoned.

Novartis has had a monopoly on imatinib in Colombia since 2012 when generics were banned in the country after a decade of litigation. Prior to 2012, generics had reduced the cost of the drug to 197% of the originator drug. Novartis has announced that it will fight its case in the Colombian courts, since its patent rights for Glivec in the country only expire in 2018.

Related articles
Colombia fighting to break Glivec monopoly

Colombia recommends compulsory license for Glivec

Reference
1. GaBI Online - Generics and Biosimilars Initiative. Colombia to enforce declaration of public interest for Glivec [www.gabionline.net]. Mol, Belgium: Pro Pharma Communications International; [cited 2017 Jan 13]. Available from: www.gabionline.net/Policies-Legislation/Colombia-to-enforce-declaration-of-public-interest-for-Glivec

Permission granted to reproduce for personal and non-commercial use only. All other reproduction, copy or reprinting of all or part of any ‘Content’ found on this website is strictly prohibited without the prior consent of the publisher. Contact the publisher to obtain permission before redistributing.

Copyright – Unless otherwise stated all contents of this website are © 2017 Pro Pharma Communications International. All Rights Reserved.