Supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products (debate)
Julia Reda, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, this is my last speech in this European Parliament. I am proud that it is on a file where the European Parliament has stood up to the so-called intellectual property industries, which are sometimes putting profits above access to medicines – which is, after all, a fundamental right.
Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) are not economically justified at all. They just prolong patents on medicines that are already too long. This proposal at least allows the manufacture of generic medicines for sale where they are already legal. This is a small step, but it’s a step in the right direction. It comes with an ambitious revision clause to investigate if this 6—month stockpiling waiver is enough to achieve public health or whether we need to question the SPC regime altogether and have a more fundamental reform. So long, and thanks for all the fish.