Company: PRTC
Filing Date: 2025-04-30
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001782999-25-000005
Chunk: 31

Company: PureTech Health plc
Filing Date: 2025-04-30
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 31
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, a generic or biosimilar MA can be submitted, and the innovator’s data may be referenced, but no generic or biosimilar product can be marketed until the expiration of the market exclusivity period. The overall ten-year period can be extended to a maximum of 11 years if, during the first eight years of those ten years, the MA holder obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorization, are determined to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with currently approved therapies. However, there is no guarantee that a product will be considered by the EU’s regulatory authorities to be a new chemical or biological entity, and products may not qualify for data exclusivity. 
In the EU, there is a special regime for biosimilars, or biological medicinal products that are similar to a reference medicinal product but that do not meet the definition of a generic medicinal product, for example, because of differences in raw materials or manufacturing processes. For such products, the results of appropriate preclinical or clinical trials must be provided, and guidelines from the EMA detail the type of quantity of supplementary data to be provided for different types of biological product. There are no such guidelines for complex biological products, such as gene or cell therapy medicinal products, and so it is unlikely that biosimilars of those products will currently be approved in the EU. However, guidance from the EMA states that they will be considered in the future in light of the scientific knowledge and regulatory experience gained at the time.
Orphan Medicinal Products
The criteria for designating an “orphan medicinal product” in the EU are similar in principle to those in the United States. A medicinal product can be designated as an orphan if its sponsor can establish that: (1) the product is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions, (2) either (a) such condition affects no more than 5 in 10,000 persons in the EU when the application is made, or (b) where it is unlikely that the marketing of the medicine would generate sufficient return in the EU to justify the necessary investment in its development, and (3) there exists no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment of the condition that have been authorized in the EU or, if such a method exists, the product in question would be of significant benefit to those affected by the condition.
Orphan designation must be requested before submitting an MAA. In the EU, orphan designation entitles a party to