Supreme Court Makes a Landmark Decision....
Indian Supreme court that is ....
Novartis sought to challenge the higher standard used in Indian Law to grant patents ...Here Drug companies apply for New patents on existing drugs that are at the end of their patent protection in order to extend the period during which the drug has a monopoly and keeps out generics ... In India, an extension to patent will be provided only if the company can prove that there was true innovation that leads to therapeutic benefits ....
This decision will save many many lives in the developing world - including Africa- which is reliant on India for AIDS drugs.
This ruling reduces the cost of cancer treatment from about $1,900 per month to around $175 for a number of generic versions that Indian companies like Cipla and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd.
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From WSJ
India's Supreme Court rejected Novartis AG's attempt to win patent protection for its blockbuster cancer drug Glivec, a landmark judgment that further complicates efforts by foreign pharmaceutical companies to enter a fast-growing market.
The Swiss company first applied in 1998 for patent protection for Glivec, a drug it had developed five years earlier to treat chronic myeloid leukemia. In 2006, India's patent office ruled against handing Glivec a patent, arguing the drug's active ingredient, imatinib mesylate, was already known prior to Glivec's development.
Novartis said the court's decision meant Novartis would have to carefully evaluate the introduction of new drugs in India. "If innovation is rewarded, there is clear business case to move forward," said Eric Althoff, a Novartis spokesman. "If it isn't rewarded and protected, there isn't."
Foreign producers are keen to tap into India's booming pharmaceutical sector, which is expected to grow to $74 billion in sales by 2020 from $11 billion last year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
But multinational drug companies say their inclination to launch new drugs in India in the future could hinge on how much protection they can get from Indian competitors that make lower-cost, generic versions of their products.
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