[Ip-health] MSF: Nearly a Quarter of a Million people Urge Novartis to Drop its Court Case in India

[Sheila.SHETTLE@geneva.msf.org]

Nearly a Quarter of a Million people Urge Novartis to Drop its Court Case=
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in India=0D
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Company would effectively be shutting down the =E2=80=9Cpharmacy of the dev=
eloping=0D
                                  world=E2=80=9D=0D
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New Delhi/Geneva, 29 January 2007 =E2=80=93 As pharmaceutical company Novar=
tis=0D
proceeds with its legal challenge against the Indian government in a court=
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hearing in Chennai today, nearly a quarter of a million people from over=0D
150 countries have expressed their concern about the negative impact the=0D
company=E2=80=99s actions could have on access to medicines in developing=
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countries. The Indian Network for People with HIV/AIDS (INP+), the People=
=E2=80=99s=0D
Health Movement, the Centre for Trade and Development (Centad), together=0D
with the international medical humanitarian organisation M=C3=A9decins Sans=
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Fronti=C3=A8res (MSF), called on the company again today to immediately cea=
se=0D
its legal action in India.=0D
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Many developing countries rely on affordable medicines produced in India,=
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and such medicines constitute over half the AIDS drugs used in the=0D
developing world.  India has been able to produce affordable versions of=0D
medicines patented elsewhere because until 2005, the country did not grant=
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pharmaceutical patents.=0D
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=E2=80=9CNovartis is trying to shut down the pharmacy of the developing wor=
ld,=E2=80=9D=0D
said Dr. Unni Karunakara, Medical Director of MSF=E2=80=99s Campaign for Ac=
cess to=0D
Essential Medicines, at a press briefing in New Delhi.  =E2=80=9CIndian dru=
gs=0D
account for at least a quarter of all medicines we buy, and form the=0D
backbone of our AIDS programmes, in which 80,000 people in over 30=0D
countries receive treatment. Over 80% of the medicines we use to treat AIDS=
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come from India. We cannot stand by and let Novartis turn off the tap.=E2=
=80=9D=0D
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Novartis is challenging a specific provision in India=E2=80=99s patent law =
that=0D
restricts patenting of medicines to innovations only.  If the provision=0D
were overturned, patents would be granted far more widely in India, heavily=
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restricting the production of affordable medicines that has become crucial=
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to the treatment of diseases across the developing world.=0D
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=E2=80=9CHere in India, the People=E2=80=99s Health Movement fought hard to=
 make sure our=0D
government implemented a law that put people=E2=80=99s health before patent=
s and=0D
profits,=E2=80=9D said Dr. Amit Sengupta   =E2=80=9CBut now, Novartis is tr=
ying to force a=0D
change in our patent law, which could deprive people suffering from=0D
life-threatening diseases and conditions.=E2=80=9D=0D
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Rules of the World Trade Organization=E2=80=99s Agreement on Trade-related =
Aspects=0D
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) obliged India to begin reviewing=0D
pharmaceutical patents in 2005.  The TRIPS agreement, however, includes=0D
pro-public health safeguards that countries can implement, and India has=0D
merely  included some of these in its patent law. The Doha Declaration on=
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TRIPS and Public Health, signed by governments in 2001, reinforced the=0D
right of countries to use these safeguards.=0D
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=E2=80=9CThe TRIPS Agreement already makes it difficult for India to produc=
e the=0D
affordable drugs that people need,=E2=80=9D said Gopakumar of Centad.  =E2=
=80=9CBy=0D
challenging the pro-public health safeguards in the Indian law, Novartis is=
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going even further and is trying to undo the Doha Declaration, restricting=
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access to medicines.=E2=80=9D=0D
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One provision of the Indian law states that any interested party can oppose=
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a patent before it is granted in a =E2=80=9Cpre-grant opposition=E2=80=9D p=
rocess.  Such=0D
oppositions have been filed against numerous patent applications on=0D
essential medicines that do not warrant patents under Indian law.=0D
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=E2=80=9CWe have opposed patent applications for crucial AIDS drugs that we=
 need to=0D
be able to access at affordable prices,=E2=80=9D said Elango Ramchandar, Pr=
esident=0D
of INP+.  =E2=80=9COur survival depends greatly on winning these patent=0D
oppositions. We need everyone, everywhere to join us in our effort to get=
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Novartis to back off here in India.=E2=80=9D=0D
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The international petition urging Novartis to drop the case is ongoing. To=
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sign the petition and for more information, visit: www.msf.org.=0D
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Contact:=0D
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Sheila Shettle, MSF:  + 91.98.10.34.46.79=0D
Leena Menghaney, MSF: +91.98.11.36.54.12=0D
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NGO STATEMENT ON NOVARTIS CHALLENGE TO INDIAN PATENTS ACT=0D
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New Delhi/Geneva =E2=80=93 29 January 2007=0D
A legal challenge brought by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis against=
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the Government of India will be heard in the Chennai High Court today.=0D
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Novartis is seeking to overturn India=E2=80=99s refusal to grant a patent o=
n the=0D
cancer drug the company markets as Gleevec/Glivec, and is also challenging=
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the provision in the Indian Patents Act of 2005 which formed the basis for=
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rejecting the Novartis patent.=0D
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When India amended its law in 2005 to implement the rules set by the World=
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Trade Organization (WTO) governing pharmaceutical patents, the country=0D
included a provision that prevents companies from patenting small changes=
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of existing drugs.  This was done with respect to the WTO Doha Declaration=
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on TRIPS and Public Health, in an attempt to secure access to affordable=0D
medicines.  It is this provision that Novartis is trying to kill in the=0D
courts.=0D
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The stakes of the case reach far beyond India, and are global. Today,=0D
Indian generic manufacturers supply over 50% of all antiretroviral drugs=0D
given to patients in the developing world.  But if Novartis wins and=0D
succeeds in getting the provision of the Indian law changed to resemble=0D
patent laws in wealthy countries, patents may be granted in India far more=
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broadly.=0D
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Over 6,000 drug patents including for AIDS drugs are awaiting examination=
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by the Indian patent offices. Whether patents on these medicines are=0D
granted may depend on the outcome of this case.  If Novartis prevails,=0D
India will cease to be the pharmacy of the developing world, and access to=
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medicines will be further threatened.=0D
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We urge Novartis to immediately cease its legal action in India.=0D
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M=C3=A9decins Sans Fronti=C3=A8res (MSF)=0D
OXFAM=0D
Knowledge Ecology International=0D
Health Action International=0D
Third World Network=0D
Delhi Network of Positive People, India=0D
Centre for Trade and Development, India=0D
Indian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, India=0D
Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Thailand=0D
Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor, Brazil=0D
Associa=C3=A7=C3=A3o Brasileira Interdisciplinar de Aids, Brazil=0D
Grupo de Trabalho da REPRIB sobre Propriedade Intelectual (GTPI), Brazil=0D
Berne Declaration, Switzerland=0D
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Ninety-one organisations and personalities from around the world also made=
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a call to Novartis to drop the case in an open letter in October 2006 to=0D
Daniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO of Novartis.  The letter is available at:=
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http://www.evb.ch/en/p25011413.html=0D
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+++++++++++++++++++++=0D
Sheila Shettle=0D
Senior Communications Officer=0D
M=C3=A9decins Sans Fronti=C3=A8res=0D
Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines=0D
Rue de Lausanne 78=0D
1211 Geneva, Switzerland=0D
+ 41.22.849.8403=0D
+ 41.79.293.0270 (m.)=0D
www.accessmed-msf.org=0D
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SIGN MSF'S 'DROP THE CASE' PETITION=0D
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Millions of people around the world today rely on affordable medicines=0D
produced in India.  Pharmaceutical company Novartis is taking the Indian=0D
government to court to force a change in the country's patent law.  If=0D
Novartis wins, a major source of affordable medicines for millions of=0D
people across the globe could dry up.=0D
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MSF is urging Novartis to DROP THE CASE.=0D
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Find out more and sign up to our petition:=0D
http://www.msf.org/petition_india/international.html=0D
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