Pfizer wins latest round in China patent case

A Beijing court has overturned a decision from 2004 that invalidated Pfizer¡¯s china  patent for the active ingredient in its impotence drug Viagra. Foreign pharmaceutical companies that are active in China have been following the dispute closely, as it has been seen as something of a test patent case for protection in the country.

Pfizer was granted a china patent for the drug in 2001, but three years later the China Patent Office withdrew the protection. Pfizer appealed, and a Chinese court has now ruled in favour of the drug company.

Not the end of the patent case
The last word has still not been said. Chinese generic drugmakers have now appealed to Beijing¡¯s High Court, so it will be at least another 12 months before the patent case is finally resolved.

The current dispute has huge commercial significance. The Chinese market for Viagra represents a potential value of 200 billion dollars. If Pfizer does lose its patent, it will meet fierce competition from Chinese drugs companies.