KUWAIT CONTINUES TO REPORT DRUG-COPYING PROBLEMS

The pharmaceutical industry in Kuwait continues to complain that the country does not provide any legal protection for pharmaceutical product patents. As in some other countries in the Gulf, drug copying is likely to become a significant problem as pirating companies from other countries begin to penetrate these markets.

In general, alleged corruption relating to pharmaceuticals remains an obstacle for the research-based sector in Kuwait. In May, the country's health minister resigned in the wake of a severe shortage of drugs. Local reports attribute the shortfall to possible illegal re-exports and falsified purchases of drugs that health officials failed to distribute to patients.

Kuwait still lags far behind its neighbours the UAE and Saudi Arabia in reforming patent law. There has been some encouraging progress, nevertheless, as there appears to be a new willingness among health and commerce officials to prevent pirate product registrations and amend the deficient 1962 patent law.

On the other hand, the government's progress on revising the patent law has so far fallen short of its own public statements. In 1997, Kuwait outlined the establishment of a committee to study and revise the patent laws in order to implement TRIPS obligations. There has been little indication that any meaningful progress has been made in this area over the last few years.

One possible means to resolve the deadlock on IP reform does provide hope for the research-based pharmaceutical community. The Ministry of Health, with the support of the Ministry of Commerce, could issue a "ministerial decision" offering de facto protection to patented pharmaceuticals by banning pirate product registrations. There are also expectations that Kuwait will continue to play an influential role among GCC states in advocating efficient and streamlined new product approvals and product launches for research-based companies.