Health Canada has issued the first Certificate of Supplementary Protection (CSP) since new provisions providing for such protection came into force on 21 September 2017.  The CSP was granted to Wyeth Holdings LLC in respect of Canadian patent No. 2463476 pertaining to a novel immunogenic composition for the prevention and treatment of meningococcal disease.  The CSP effectively extends the period of patent protection for this composition by two years.

A CSP provides an additional period of patent protection of up to two years for drugs containing a new medicinal ingredient or a new combination of medicinal ingredients.  More information on CSPs can be found in our previous article on the subject.  Eleven other applications for CSPs are pending.