Innovation & health

From Félix Rozanski, Director Ejecutivo del Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo de la Industria Químico Farmacéutica Argentina, we heard that the 7th LATIN-AMERICAN SEMINAR ON: “INNOVATION AND HEALTH” took place last 21-23 September 2016. The event took place at two venues: the Federal Court of Administrative Justice in Mexico City and the Mexican Industrial Property Institute (IMPI).

Not only the agenda has to be praised but the quality of the speakers is to be commended. The agenda cover topics such as: Challenges to Promote Innovation and Development in Latin America; Biomedicines: Regulations and access in Latin America; Correct Identification of ‘Biosimilar’; Data Exclusivity; the Linkage between Patents and Health.

Debates and experiences were heard from Judges and lawyers in the handling of technical and controversial cases; Voluntary vs. Compulsory licenses; Medicine Counterfeiting; and the experts from different National Industrial Property Institutes were also engaged in discussions and revealing the experiences and strategic plans in Latin America. Speakers such as Félix Rozanski (Argentina); Sergio Rodríguez Soria (Director Innovation at Production Ministry, Peru); Elke Simon (Patent Division, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Germany); David R. Gerk: Patent Prosecution Highway (USPTO); Albert Keyack (EPO); Freddy Arias Mora (Costa Rica), Professor School of Pharmacy and Patent Judicial Expert; Laura M. Vargas Sanchez (Director, Regulation of Health Products in Costa Rica); Corey Salsberg (NOVARTIS, Switzerland); Eladio Torres Moreno (Pfizer, USA); Francisco Gomez, (Sanofi, México); Luz María Anaya Domínguez (Judge, Specialized I.P. Chamber Administrative Federal Court, Mexico); Ramon Ignacio Cabrera Leon (Judge, Administrative Federal Court, Mexico); Francisco de las Carreras (Judge, Federal Civil and Commercial Second Instance Court, Argentina); Marcia Flores (Judge in the Quito Court of Justice, Ecuador); Jaime Enriquez ( Judge, Administrative Litigations Court, Ecuador); Rubí Lucrecia Gamboa Barrera de Valvert (Judge, First Instance Civil Court, Guatemala); Mónica Rosell (Expert in the Andean Community Court of Justice); Eric Velasco (Panama’s Supreme Court); Lic. Matías Schweizer (INPI, Argentina); Claudia Baez and Belen Cubilla (Patent Office, Paraguay); Nubia Chedid (INPI, Brazil); as many other judges, officials, and experts.

According to Félix Rozanski the most debated issues were:

(a) How to attract private investments to R&D? How to promote cooperation? How to develop regional R&D projects - mainly in the Pacific Alliance?
(b) The international cooperation and the new agreement signed to speed up patent examinations;
(c) The decision making process in the difficult IP litigation with contrasting views between Chilean and Argentine judges as to the role of the judge;
(d) The value of incremental innovations for the national industries and researchers. Example in Argentina where the nationals do not obtain Argentine patents but do patent the incremental innovation in the US;
(d) The compulsory licenses in Colombia and Ecuador and in the latter case the proposed new code on inventions which in practice mean no patents at all;
(e) The drama of counterfeit medicines with Dominican Republic taking the most severe measures in spite of all the difficulties;
(f) The new plans of the Argentine INPI to promote innovation and take into account the examinations in other national patent offices; and
(g) What the new TTP means for the Pacific nations participating and the chances that it will be ratified.

Felix is open to answer any query you may have at cedieduca@cedi.org.ar

Here you can also find a highlight written by the Federal Court for Administrative Affairs, Mexico about the Seminar.