FIRMS PROTEST CANADIAN PATENT RULES

Generic drug companies in Canada are protesting controversialnew patent rules that they say will give brandeddrug makers in their country an unnecessarily longperiod of market exclusivity. Under rules issued to implementthe new legislation, brand-name drug companiesare provided with an 8-year ban on generic competition,regardless of whether there are relevant patents on theirproducts. According to generic leaders, if this 8-year banhad been in force during the past 5 years, it would haveadded $600 million to the country's prescription drugcosts and denied Canadians access to generic versionsof many blockbuster drugs.