What is the role of patients within clinical trials set up to assess the efficacy of new drugs?
ECPC believes that patients are not only a fundamental partner in the development of new drugs, but they are also those who will finally benefit from the innovation process.
Recent jurisprudence from the European Patent Office might seriously threaten the participation of patients to clinical trials, possibly exposing patients to potentially dangerous legal actions or reduced transparency and/or delay of implementation of new clinical trials, which are both to the detriment of patients’ interests.
For this reason, ECPC President Francesco De Lorenzo took the initiative and expressed ECPC concerns to Mr Benoit Battistelli, EPO’s President.
The European Patent Office is the executive branch of the European Patent Organisation, one of the three principal patent granting organisation worldwide (together with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Japan Patent Office).