[Ip-health] Swiss NGO flays Novartis' Glivec appeal

[Kajal Bhardwaj]

Swiss NGO flays Novartis' Glivec appeal

Priyanka Golikeri / DNA
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 23:30 IST

Mumbai: A Switzerland-based NGO has come out strongly against Swiss pharma =
giant Novartis' appeal to the Supreme Court last week over the rejection of=
 its patent for cancer drug Glivec.

Berne Declaration, based in Zurich and Lausanne, said it is evaluating futu=
re course of action depending on the Supreme Court judgment.Patrick Durisch=
, health programme coordinator of the NGO, told DNA Money over telephone th=
e company's move puts at stake the lives of thousands of people. "While tho=
usands of lives are at stake, Novartis refuses to accept past court decisio=
ns and files yet another appeal. The company is also relentlessly trying to=
 challenge section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act, which is a safeguard agai=
nst the multiplication of patents around the same substance."About three ye=
ars ago, Berne Declaration had sent an open letter to Novartis CEO Daniel V=
asella, asking him to drop the Glivec case in India. Durisch said the NGO m=
ight once again ask the drug maker to drop the matter in the interest of pa=
tients.

A Novartis India spokesperson said it had not received any communication fr=
om the NGO. Ranjit Shahani, vice chairman and MD, said, the company wants t=
o "ensure effective protection for innovation... we want clarity on how inn=
ovation is valued and protected in India."Glivec, used to treat chronic mye=
loid leukemia (CML), a life threatening form of cancer, is a key drug for N=
ovartis, with global sales of $3.8 billion in 2008.

According to YK Sapru, founder chairman and CEO of Cancer Patients Aid
Association, a Mumbai-based NGO, there are around 2 lakh CML patients in In=
dia, with 40,000-50,000 afflicted each year.

The case of Dinanath Patnaik from Sambalpur district in Orissa is a pointer=
. The 45-year-old, who works as a factory worker, cannot understand a word =
of the legalities of the case. But he does understand that if Glivec is mad=
e the only brand to be sold in the country, his wife, who is
suffering from cancer, would have to forego treatment. The cost of Glivec, =
at Rs 1.2 lakh per month, is beyond Patnaik, who earns just Rs 5,000 a mont=
h.

"I can't even afford the cheaper drug (generic)which costs Rs 11,400 per mo=
nth," he says. For the last three years, Patnaik's wife has been getting th=
e generic version of Glivec free through a patient assistance programme of =
the Indian Cooperative Oncology network, an NGO.