The delegation of the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) took part in the Eurasia Pharmaceutical Forum, held in Moscow on November 12-13, 2019.

The role of intellectual property as a legal instrument in the acquisition and protection of exclusive rights to innovative technologies in pharmacy is one of the key topics within the functioning of the single pharmaceutical market in Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the development of an effective regulatory policy in the EAEU countries.

IP issues were discussed within the section "Protection of intellectual property rights in the field of drug circulation. The balance of state, business and patients."

The participants of the section debated on issues related to the protection of IP rights while introducing the drugs into the EAEU market, the common conception for the implementation of patent rights in drug licensing under the EAEU rules, the protection of data exclusivity of clinical trials in the EAEU law, as well as the data protection with compulsory licensing and its influence on pharmaceutical business.

The EAPO representative made a presentation on current issues of patent term extension of the unitary Eurasian patent in the EAEU member states, the challenges related to the differences in terms of extension of the Eurasian patent as well as in the scope of patent rights during the additional period of patent protection in the context of the creation of a common market for drugs within the single customs area.