The Hindu Business Line : Pfizer worried over parallel import of Norvasc into Philippines

Pfizer Inc has a problem with the import of generic versions of its anti-hypertension drug Norvasc into the Philippines. And some of this problem stems from India.

Last month, the multinational drug major filed a suit in the Philippines to stop the Government from importing generic versions or copies of Norvasc into the country from markets such as India, said an attorney tracking the development.

Pfizer Inc sued the Philippine government-owned company PITC (Philippine International Trading Corporation) and the Philippines regulatory authority BFAD (Bureau of Food and Drugs), confirms Ms Judit Rius Sanjuan, a staff attorney with the Consumer Project on Technology (CPTech).

The trigger being the Philippines authorities' intention to obtain early regulatory approval on generic Norvasc so that it could be imported from India or Pakistan when the Philippines patent on Norvasc expires in 2007, she explained. CPTech tracks medicine access and IPR-related issues, among others.

Less priced

Pfizer sells amlodipine besylate in global markets including the Philippines under the brandname Norvasc. In India, Pfizer sells the drug under the name Amlogard, at a price much less than in the Philippines, the lawyer said.

No information was available from Pfizer in India on who was exporting generic versions of Norvasc to the Philippines. But Pfizer Inc in an e-mailed response to Business Line said: "... the matter is currently before the courts in the Philippines, and we cannot provide details except to say that Pfizer is seriously concerned about the situation on two fronts, namely; the potential threat to patient safety and public health in the Philippines and secondly, the infringement of a Pfizer Norvasc patent in that country."

Parallel trade

CPTech's attorney points out that Pfizer's suit is to delay parallel trade of Norvasc. Parallel trade is when a product is bought in a country where prices are cheaper, and imported into a country where prices are higher. The Philippines permits parallel trade only after patents expire. Pfizer charges different prices in the Philippines and India on the drug, she points out.

Quoting a contact person in the Philippines, the attorney further observes that Pfizer is likely to face similar parallel import problems on its blockbuster Lipitor (atorvastatin), among others.

But a multinational company representative in India observed that parallel imports into other countries from India does not augur well for the image of the local drug industry. Especially so, since the new patent regime in India protects product patents.