Gilead los­es key patent claims for So­val­di in Chi­na, open­ing door to ear­li­er gener­ic en­try

A par­tial patent in­val­i­da­tion by Chi­nese au­thor­i­ties has shak­en the case Gilead has been build­ing for its hep C star So­val­di by re­mov­ing a key bar­ri­er to gener­ic en­try.

The de­ci­sion means knock­offs of the high­ly ef­fec­tive hep C treat­ment can ar­rive as ear­ly as next year — rather than 2024, when the patent was orig­i­nal­ly set to ex­pire — ac­cord­ing to the Ini­tia­tive for Med­i­cines, Ac­cess, and Knowl­edge, or I-MAK. I-MAK filed one of the two re­quests for patent in­val­i­da­tion cit­ed in the rul­ing, to­geth­er with Chi­nese drug­mak­er Fu­jian Co­sunter Phar­ma.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER