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Latest news
12 May 2011
GMiA welcomes an important amendment to the Copyright Act to protect the right of the Australian public to access generic medicines
Members of GMiA strongly welcome the passing through Federal Parliament of the Therapeutic Goods Legislation Amendment (Copyright) Bill yesterday.
This important legislation will amend the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) to confirm the legitimacy of the current and future use and reproduction of essential information provided to patients with their medicines that is produced by the sponsors of generic medicines.
The supply of the information provided by sponsors of generic medicines in substantially the same form as the originator information is being challenged via the claim of alleged copyright infringement by one sponsor of originator medicines.
If nothing had been done by Parliament, sponsors of generic medicines could have been prevented from not only supplying the information that accompanies the medicine, it could have prevented sponsors from supplying generic medicines to the Australian market.
The Therapeutic Goods Legislation Amendment (Copyright) Bill is important public policy that is designed to ensure the continued supply of generic medicines to the Australian public.
Efficient and timely market entry of generic medicines brings the public and Government important benefits of more affordable medicines and contributes significantly to the sustainability of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). In the last four years the presence of a generic medicines sector has saved the PBS in excess of $1.4 billion.