Pfizer's Intellectual Property Rights Battles in China for Viagra

In late 2001, Pfizer was granted a patent for Viagra in China. But Pfizer soon became engaged in numerous patent litigations. An alliance of Chinese pharmaceutical companies petitioned the State Intellectual Property Office's (SIPO) Patent Re-examination Board (PRB) to invalidate the patent. They contended that Viagra should not be provided a patent as it failed to fulfill the "novelty"requirement under China's patent law. In July 4, 2004, PRB invalidated Pfizer's patent for Viagra citing that it had failed to accurately explain the uses of the Viagra's key ingredient, Sildenafil citrate (Sildenafil). Pfizer argued that at the time of filing of the patent application, there was no requirement for that data, and to invalidate the patent on that basis was a flawed, "retroactive"judgment.

Critics lambasted China for failing to properly enforce IPR laws and called for political pressure to make China conform to TRIPS.

Roger Pilon (Pilon), vice president for legal affairs at the Cato Institute⁸, explained the reason for the outcry: "On average, from the time a company first applies for a patent, it takes 12 to 15 years and $800 million before the first pill reaches the market. Obviously, if others were free to copy and sell that pill, having incurred none of those costs, there would be no incentive to make that kind of investment - and none of the modern "miracle"drugs that investment produces. No one grows crops if others are free to harvest them."⁹