BrightGene Biomedical manufactures Gilead’s remdesivir — without a license
Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir is being tested as a possible treatment for Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. That appears to have motivated one Chinese company, BrightGene Biomedical Technology, to replicate the drug’s active pharmaceutical ingredient.
Despite Gilead’s IP protection on the molecule, BrightGene insists it has not infringed on any patents because the generic treatment is still in a development phase. Gilead will have to out-license the drug in order for the copied version to be marketed, BrightGene’s board secretary told Chinese news publication Jiemian.
Gilead told Bloomberg News it’s aware of BrightGene’s move but that discussion of licensing the investigational drug is “premature.” The company, it said, remains “focused on rapidly determining the potential for remdesivir to treat Covid-19.”
Once a failed Ebola treatment, Chinese scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology found remdesivir to be one of the more effective agents that can inhibit the novel coronavirus in the lab. The institute filed a patent for the drug, an unusual move given that Gilead developed remdesivir and applied for a patent in China over three years ago, though it still has not yet been approved.
A Phase 3 trial studying the antiviral’s efficacy and safety in patients with Covid-19 infection is currently underway in China. It is expected to finish by late April.
Despite Gilead’s IP protection on the molecule, BrightGene insists it has not infringed on any patents because the generic treatment is still in a development phase. Gilead will have to out-license the drug in order for the copied version to be marketed, BrightGene’s board secretary told Chinese news publication Jiemian.
Gilead told Bloomberg News it’s aware of BrightGene’s move but that discussion of licensing the investigational drug is “premature.” The company, it said, remains “focused on rapidly determining the potential for remdesivir to treat Covid-19.”
Once a failed Ebola treatment, Chinese scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology found remdesivir to be one of the more effective agents that can inhibit the novel coronavirus in the lab. The institute filed a patent for the drug, an unusual move given that Gilead developed remdesivir and applied for a patent in China over three years ago, though it still has not yet been approved.
A Phase 3 trial studying the antiviral’s efficacy and safety in patients with Covid-19 infection is currently underway in China. It is expected to finish by late April.
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