Top Court in India Rejects Novartis Drug Patent
Source: ny times
Indias Supreme Court rejected a Swiss drug makers patent application for a major cancer drug Monday in a landmark ruling that allows cheap copies of important medicines to continue being distributed in much of the world.
Novartis had hoped that Indias adoption under international pressure of a new patent law would lead the country to grant the company an exclusive license to produce Gleevec, which can cost up $70,000 per year. Indian generic versions cost about $2,500 year.
But the courts ruling confirmed that Indias criteria for the granting of such patents remain far higher than those in the United States, where patents are so easy to win that one was given in 1999 for a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich. Which countrys patent system does more to protect the sick and encourage invention has become an increasing source of international debate.
The ruling Monday is bound to be seen with some concern by the United States and the international pharmaceutical industry and may be yet another blow to Indias standing among major multinational companies, many of whom view protection of their intellectual property as vital to their business interests.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/business/global/top-court-in-india-rejects-novartis-drug-patent.html