South Africa seeks to close drug patent loophole

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South Africa seeks to close drug patent loophole

By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa plans to overhaul its intellectual property laws to improve access to cheaper medicines by making it harder for pharmaceutical firms to register and roll-over patents for drugs, a senior official said on Monday. Central to the reforms is closing a loophole known as "ever-greening", whereby drug companies slightly modify an existing drug whose patent is about to expire and then claim it is a new drug, thereby extending its patent protection and their profits. ...

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