[Ip-health] Financial Times: Novartis fails in Indian legal challenge

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

Novartis fails in Indian legal challenge

By Amy Yee in New Delhi and Clive Cookson in London

Published: August 6 2007 18:27 | Last updated: August 6 2007 18:27

An Indian court on Monday dismissed a challenge to the country=92s
controversial patent laws filed by the Swiss pharmaceuticals maker
Novartis, signalling a victory for health advocates who say they are
protecting cheap generic drugs for the developing world.

But the decision by Chennai High Court struck a blow to the
pharmaceutical industry=92s hopes of bringing drug patent protection in
India up to international standards. It =93will have long-term negative
consequences for research and development into better medicines for
patients in India and abroad,=94 said Novartis.

=93This is a huge relief for millions of patients and doctors in
developing countries who depend on affordable medicines from India,=94
said Tido von Schoen-Angerer of M=E9decins Sans Fronti=E8res (MSF), the
medical humanitarian organisation.

Novartis sought to revise aspects of India=92s patent laws, which it said
violated World Trade Organisation rules. The company said it was
unlikely to appeal against the ruling.

Led by MSF, public health advocates insisted that India should be
allowed to remain the =93pharmacy of the developing world=94; 84 per cent
of the antiretroviral drugs MSF prescribes to HIV/Aids patients come
from Indian generic companies.

The dispute tested the bounds of stronger patent laws enacted by Delhi
in 2005 and highlighted India=92s growing importance as a global generic
drugmaker.

It is also another example of clashes between developing world
governments and drug companies over patents. Thailand and Brazil this
year overrode patents in order to buy generics.

Novartis had disputed a crucial part of Indian law that restricts the
patenting of small improvements to drugs, such as a change from tablet
to capsule form, which can give a drugmaker another 20 years of patent
protection. The company had challenged a decision by India=92s patent
office to reject a patent application for its cancer drug Glivec.
Novartis claimed the patent restrictions in the Indian Patents Act were
not compliant with WTO rules.

Until recently, India did not grant pharmaceutical product patents. As
part of WTO negotiations, India enacted a new regime in 2005 that gave
stronger and broader protection of intellectual property rights.

Harvey Bale, director general of the International Federation of
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, urged the Indian government to amend the
legislation in the light of Monday=92s court ruling.

=93India has the potential to be a global leader in biomedical R&D, but
its current patent legislation condemns it to lag behind,=94 he sai

---------------------------------
Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
voice +41.22.791.6727
fax +41.22.723.2988
mobile +41 76 508 0997
thiru@keionline.org