The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation combats evergreening

On June 8, 2021 the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation changed the requirements for examination of patent applications in the field of pharmaceuticals suspected of evergreening. Specifically, a stricter approach to the evaluation of novelty and inventive step shall be applied within the examination procedure of such applications.

Evergreening occurs when the manufacturer of a drug already protected by a patent also patents its various forms and/or modifications with minor improvements that only formally meet the conditions of patentability, thereby extending the term of protection of the already patented drug.

Evergreening is an abuse of IP rights, since this tactic distorts the fundamentals of patent system. Patent system presupposes the granting by the State of the right to exclusive use of the technology during the patent protection period in exchange for disclosure of its essence. All information about patents and their owners is published by Rospatent, so that other companies can use it. After 20-25 years, the patented technology becomes available for anyone. Evergreening violates this principle, since it indefinitely extends the patent monopoly on an already, in fact, well-known invention. Moreover, evergreening prevents the entry of generics into the market, which is bad for consumers.