[Ip-health] Novartis Boycott in Times of India

[Gopal Dabade]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Dear friends,

This is the news item from Times of India. Please sign the online petition
at http://novartisboycott.org/petition

Best wishes

From
Dr Gopal Dabade,
Drug Action Forum =96 Karnataka.
09448862270
drdabade@gmail.com



http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_Business/NGO_takes_Novartis_battle=
_online/articleshow/2318139.cms
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*NGO takes Novartis battle online*

The Times of India, 29 Aug 2007, 0046 hrs IST,Amrita Nair-Ghaswalla,TNN

MUMBAI: The Novartis cancer drug patent case has taken a new turn with an
online petition urging doctors and medical professionals to boycott the
multinational. The Swiss pharma giant may plan to switch hundreds of
millions of dollars in planned investments from India to other locations,
primarily China, in response to a court ruling, but an Indian,
non-government organisation has decided to clamour for the firm's boycott.

The Drug Action Forum, Karnataka, has initiated the online petition since
Novartis continues to fight a case in the Chennai high court, though the
firm lost out an earlier verdict on Section 3 (d). The forum has said that
if public opinion and pressure is not brought on the company, "then this
single case that is currently in the court may have long term implications
on access to medicines to people all over the world".

Novartis filed an application in 1998 at the Chennai patent office seeking
the grant of patent on its anti-cancer drug Gleevec. Despite the fact that
the court rejected its plea, Novartis has filed a case in the Chennai high
court, stating that the India Patent Appellate Body had erred in dismissing
its plea to exclude a technical member S Chandrasekaran from hearing its
legal appeals.

The case has been admitted in the court and is likely to come for hearing o=
n
September 10. The company's claim is that Chandrasekaran is prejudiced sinc=
e
he had earlier filed a petition on behalf of the government.

The petition urges Novartis to desist from jeopardising lives of countless
poor people. Several Indian companies like NATCO, Cipla, Ranbaxy and Hetero
also make and market generic equivalent of the drug.