第四章 歐洲補充保護證書(SPC)制度與現況
第三節 爭議案例之探討
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA 347 F.3d 1367
(Fed. Cir. 2003)
35 U.S.C.156(f)
35 U.S.C.156(f)定義
Pfizer Inc.
v.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Ltd.
and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Inc.
359 F.3d 1361
(Fed. Cir. 2004)
35 U.S.C. 156(a)(5)(A)
35 U.S.C.156(b)(2)
35 U.S.C. 156(f)
Biogen International GmbH v.
Banner Life Sciences, LLC No. 20-1373 (Fed. Cir. 2020)
35 U.S.C.156(f)
35 U.S.C.156(b)(2)
35 U.S.C.156 定義之
在 35 U.S.C.156(f)定義下,
活性成分之活性代謝物是否
為經延長專利權期間之保護
範圍所涵蓋?
‧ Arnold Partnership
v.
Dudas 362 F.3d 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2004)
35 U.S.C.156(a)(5)(A)
35 U.S.C.156(f)
在 多 於一 個活 性成 分
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical v.
Lupin Pharms.
603 F.3d 1377
(Fed. Cir. 2010)
35 U.S.C. 156(a)(5)(A)
35 U.S.C. 156(b) 鏡 像 異構 物與 消旋 化
PhotoCure ASA v.
156(f)(2)定義活性成分與 35 U.S.C. 156(a)(5)(A)之商業銷售或使 用許可是否屬第一次上市許可判斷。多數爭議案例事實於我國現行延長審查基 準內已有相似案例可供判斷,惟就含二個活性成分以上之組成物或組合之第一 次許可證判斷(Arnold 案),現行延長審查基準未有明確之判斷標準,本文將 於第六章進一步探討。
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醫藥品(medicinal product)依歐盟規則 469/2009 第 1 條(a)之定義140, 為物質(substance)或物質之組合,用以治療或預防人類或動物之疾病或可被 用以診斷、回復(restoring)、校正(correcting)或調整(modifying)人類或 動物的生理功能。歐洲補充保護證書制度中產品(product)定義141,依同規則 第 1 條(b)之規定,為醫藥品(medicinal product)所含有之活性成分(active ingredient)或活性成分之組合(combination of active ingredients)142。所謂基礎 專利(basic patent)係持有人為獲得補充保護證書之目的所指定之專利,該專 利可能為與該產品對應的物之發明或用以生產該產品的方法發明143。
140 Article 1(a) of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009(“ ‘medicinal product’ means any substance or combination of substances presented for treating or preventing disease in human beings or animals and any substance or combination of substances which may be administered to human beings or animals with a view to making a medical diagnosis or to restoring, correcting or modifying physiological functions in humans or in animals.”)
141 在前述美國專利權期間延長之討論時,如原文使用之詞彙「drug product」,筆者統一翻譯為
「藥品」,其意涵與歐洲補充保護證書制度下的產品「product」對應,為醫藥品所含有之活性 成分或活性成分之組合。美國專利權期間延長制度使用之「product」詞彙,含括藥品、醫療器 材、食品添加物或色素添加劑等,特此敘明,以免混淆。
142 Article 1(b) of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009(“ ‘product’ means the active ingredient or combination of active ingredients of a medicinal product.”)
143 Article 1 (c) of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 (“ ‘basic patent’ means a patent which protects a product as such, a process to obtain a product or an application of a product, and which is designated by its holder for the purpose of the procedure for grant of a certificate.”)
144 Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009(“Within the limits of the protection conferred by the basic patent, the protection conferred by a certificate shall extend only to the product covered by the authorisation to place the corresponding medicinal product on the market and for any use of the product as a medicinal product that has been authorized before the expiry of the certificate.”)
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protected by a basic patent in force, the certificate is capable of covering the active ingredient as such and also its various derived forms such as salts and esters, as medicinal products, in so far as they are covered by the protection of the basic patent.”)146 Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009(“A certificate shall be granted if, in the Member State in which the application referred to in Article 7 is submitted and at the date of that application:
(a) the product is protected by a basic patent in force; (b) a valid authorisation to place the product on the market as a medicinal product has been granted in accordance with Directive 2001/83/EC or Directive 2001/82/EC, as appropriate;(c) the product has not already been the subject of a certificate;
(d) the authorisation referred to in point (b) is the first authorisation to place the product on the market as a medicinal product.”)
147 Case C-577/13, Actavis Group PTC and Actavis UK, paragraph 42. ( “Article 3(a) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 May 2009 concerning the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products must be interpreted as meaning that, where a basic patent includes a claim to a product comprising an active ingredient which constitutes the sole subject-matter of the invention, for which the holder of that patent has already obtained a supplementary protection certificate, as well as a subsequent claim to a product comprising a combination of that active ingredient and another substance, that provision precludes the holder from obtaining a second supplementary protection certificate for that combination.”)
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專利權延長最多五年。如果已依照兒童研究計劃(paediatric investigation plan, PIP)提交相關數據,則根據歐盟規則 1901/2006( Regulation (EC) No 1901/2006),補充保護證書期間可以增加 6 個月。PIP 係來支持兒童用藥,確 保收集到有關該藥物對兒童影響之足夠數據,該六個月期間係為補償 PIP 所要 求額外執行的臨床試驗和測試。」基礎專利之專利權人和補充保護證書持有人 自所涉醫藥品(medicinal product)首次獲准在共同體市場上市時起,享有整體 最長 15 年的獨占權(exclusivity)150。148 Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009
149 European Commission.(n.d.). Supplementary protection certificates for pharmaceutical and plant protection products. Retrieved from
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/intellectual-property/patents/supplementary-protection-ce rtificates_en (最後瀏覽日:2020 年 6 月 7 日)( “An SPC can extend a patent right for a maximum of five years. A six-month additional extension is available in accordance with Regulation(EC)No 1901/2006 if the SPC relates to a medicinal product for children for which data has been submitted according to a Paediatric Investigation Plan (PIP). PIPs are required to support the authorisation of medicines for children. They ensure that enough data is collected on the effects of the medicine on children. The extension compensates for the additional clinical trials and testing that PIPs require.”)
150 Recital(9)of Regulation EC 469/2009
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圖 4-1 歐洲補充保護證書期間計算示意圖(筆者自製)
當有一符合歐盟規則 469/2009 第 1 條定義之產品取得上市許可,如該產品 同時受到數個不同且有效之基礎專利所保護,不論該等基礎專利發明內容保護 係物、物之製法或物之用途,亦不論該等基礎專利權是否分屬不同專利權人,
各該基礎專利權人皆可據此上市許可及其基礎專利提出補充保護證書申請,然
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是生物相似性藥品(biosimilars)及其活性成分153。因補充保護證書享有與基 礎專利相同的權利,在補充保護證書保護的範圍不存有任何例外之情形下,縱 過 Regulation (EU) 2019/933,於現行補充保護證書制度下增訂生產豁免規 定(manufacturing waiver regulation)。該規則就補充保護證書之保護範圍增加151 Case C-181/95, Biogen Inc. v Smithkline Beecham Biologicals SA., paragraph 28,
( “Consequently, where a product is protected by a number of basic patents in force, which may belong to a number of patent holders, each of those patents may be designated for the purpose of the procedure for the grant of a certificate. Under Article 3(c) of the Regulation, however, only one certificate may be granted for each basic patent.”)
152 Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009,原文 Subject to the provisions of Article 4, the certificate shall conferthe same rights as conferred by the basic patent and shall be subject to the same limitations and the same obligations.”
153 Recital(3)of Regulation(EU)2019/933 (“Since the adoption in 1992 of the predecessor to Regulation (EC) No 469/2009, markets have evolved significantly and there has been huge growth in the making of generics and especially of biosimilars, and in the making of their active ingredients, in particular in countries outside the Union (‘third countries’) in which protection does not exist or has expired.”)
154 Recital(4)of Regulation(EU)2019/933 (“The absence in Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 of any exception to the protection conferred by the certificate has had the unintended consequence of preventing makers of generics and biosimilars established in the Union from making generics and biosimilars in the Union, even for the purpose of export to third-country markets in which protection does not exist or has expired. Likewise, makers are prevented from making generics and biosimilars for the purpose of storing them for a limited period before the expiry of the certificate. Those circumstances make it more difficult for those makers, in contrast to makers located in third countries where protection does not exist or has expired, to enter the Union market immediately after expiry of the certificate, given that they are not in a position to build up production capacity for the purpose of export or for the purpose of entering the market of a Member State until the protection provided by that certificate has expired.”)
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例外規定(an exception to the protection),以衡平補充保護證書保護範圍及歐 盟學名藥製藥產業發展。生產豁免規定限縮補充保護證書所有人專有實施發明 之權利,在一定條件下,外銷至第三方國家為目的之產品生產(making)、產 品儲存(storing)或其他必須的行為例外地為保護證書之保護範圍所不及,例 如155:
1. 於補充保護證書期間屆滿的一定期間內,以銷售至第三方國家為目的,
生產受補充保護證書所保護之產品或含該產品的醫藥品之行為。
2. 在補充保護證書效期屆滿後立即進入歐盟市場(EU day-one entry),將 補充保護證書所保護之產品或含有該產品的醫藥品儲存於生產之會員 國中的行為156。
當各會員國法院適用歐盟規則 469/2009 有疑義時,可停止訴訟程序,由歐 洲聯盟法院(Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU,以下簡稱歐盟法院)
就補充保護證書爭議問題所涉規範進行統一解釋。本文研析之爭議案例中有多 數係英國法院提出,英國雖已於 2020 年 1 月 31 日正式脫離歐盟,其仍延續採 用補充保護證書制度,日後是否納入生產豁免規定,有待觀察157。
155 Recital (8) of Regulation (EU) 2019/933
156 參見 Regulation (EU) 2019/933 增訂之 article 5 (2)(a)(iii)內容,原文:the making, no earlier than six months before the expiry of the certificate, of a product, or a medicinal product containing that product, for the purpose of storing it in the Member State of making, in order to place that product, or a medicinal product containing that product, on the market of Member States after the expiry of the corresponding certificate.
157 Intellectual Property Office and Government Digital Service.(2020). Changes to SPC and patent law from 1 January 2021. Retrieved from
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/changes-to-spc-and-patent-law-after-the-transition-period (最後瀏覽 日:2020 年 4 月 13 日)
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第二節 補充保護證書之爭議案例
歐洲補充保護證書爭議案例主要涉及歐盟規則 469/2009 第 3 條授予要件 之規定,本文擬藉由歐盟法院近期判決,進一步了解歐洲補充保護證書制度。
因一爭議案例可能同時涉及多個授予要件判斷,本文依爭議核心問題將本節爭 議案例分為「產品受有效基礎專利所保護之爭議」、「 醫藥品上市許可與基 礎專利之對應判斷」、「產品尚未為補充保護證書所保護之判斷」及「醫藥品 第一次上市許可之判斷」等四大類別。
一、 產品受有效基礎專利所保護之爭議
1. 歐盟法院第 C-322/10 號判決158 (2011)
【
案例事實】歐盟法院第 C-322/10 號判決(Medeva BV v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks)主要涉及 Medeva BV (以下簡稱 Medeva)持有之 EP 1,666,057 號專利(本案基礎專利),該發明專利為一種製備對抗百日咳菌
(Bordetella pertussis)的無細胞性疫苗(acellular vaccine)的方法專利,係組 合 pertactin 及絲狀血凝素(filamentous haemagglutinin)兩種活性成分,此基礎 專利於 2009 年 2 月 18 日公告,專利權期間至 2010 年 4 月 25 日屆滿。Medeva 生產多種疫苗製劑,包括一種含有多種活性成分的 DTPa-IPV/HIB 混合疫苗
(combination vaccine) 159,其為白喉 Diphtheria、破傷風 Tetanus、無細胞性 百 日 咳 Pertussis ( acellular component ) 、 去 活 性 小 兒 麻 痺 poliomyelitis
(inactivated)、b 型流行性感冒嗜血桿菌 Haemophilus influenzae type b 之混合
158 判決原文檢自:http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?language=en&num=C-322/10 (最後瀏覽 日:2020 年 3 月 30 日)
159 原文係使用 multi-disease vaccines(多病疫苗)一詞,混合疫苗(combination vaccine)則是 我國藥品查驗登記審查準則-疫苗類藥品之查驗登記所使用之用語,筆者認為使用混合疫苗一 詞較為貼切。
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於所對應之醫藥品中皆含有 pertactin 與絲狀血凝素兩種活性成分,但其各自含 有 8-11 種不等之活性成分(含有 pertactin 及絲狀血凝素以外的其他活性成分)。英國智慧財產局認為 Medeva 提出之編號 SCP/GB09/015、SCP/GB09/016、
SCP/GB09/017 與 SCP/GB09/019 等 4 件補充保護證書申請請求保護之活性成分 多於基礎專利請求項記載內容(pertactin 及絲狀血凝素),不符合歐盟規則 469/2009 第 3 條(a)「產品受有效之基礎專利所保護」之規定。另就編號 SPC / GB09 / 018 補充保護證書申請,英國智慧財產局認為儘管此申請案所請求保 護之特定活性成分為與基礎專利對應之 pertactin 及絲狀血凝素,但因上市許可 所對應藥品含有 pertactin 及絲狀血凝素以外的活性成分,此補充保護證書之申 請不符合歐盟規則 469/2009 第 3 條(b)「該醫藥品已依據 2001/83/EC 關於 供人類使用之藥品共同體規範指令或 2001/82/EC 涉及動物用藥品共同體規範 指令取得上市許可」之規定。
Medeva 不服英國智慧財產局之拒絕決定,向英格蘭及威爾斯高等法院
(High Court of England and Wales,EWHC)提起訴訟亦遭到駁回, Medeva 遂上訴至英格蘭及威爾斯上訴法院(Court of Appeal of England and Wales)。
英格蘭及威爾斯上訴法院依照歐盟運作條約(Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, TFEU)第 267 條161提請歐盟法院對歐盟規則 469/2009 第 3 條
(a)中「產品受有效之基礎專利所保護」及第 3 條(b)「該醫藥品已依據
(a)中「產品受有效之基礎專利所保護」及第 3 條(b)「該醫藥品已依據