This leads to the conclusion that there is a need to make the IPR system
more favourable for domestic firms. New public policies seem to be moving
in this direction. Currently, the liberation of drugs from SMP is accelerating,
and an amendment of SMP in January 2001 restricts the scope of exclusivity
rights. Henceforth, exclusivity rights are granted only for drugs patented abroad
between 1968 and 1991. In the same way, the National Drugs Committee has
allowed the production of generic versions of patented drugs in order to begin
bio-equivalence studies. Known as the “Bolar provision”, this measure allows
their registration before the end of the exclusivity period and thus cuts the
multinational exclusivity period by 2 to 3 years