World | India
Patent dispute over cancer drug referred to tribunal
A judge yesterday referred a patent dispute over the popular cancer drug Gleevec to a two-judge tribunal, saying the importance of the questions involved required a larger panel, according to a lawyer.
- AP
- Published: 00:00 September 27, 2006
New Delhi: A judge yesterday referred a patent dispute over the popular cancer drug Gleevec to a two-judge tribunal, saying the importance of the questions involved required a larger panel, according to a lawyer.
The civil case, filed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis which makes Gleevec is seen as a test for India's new patent laws, which public health activists say favour multinational companies.
Yesterday's ruling was a setback to aid groups, which wanted the case dismissed by the judge. But soon after the hearing began, the Tamil Nadu High Court judge ruled it should be heard by a two-judge panel, said Anand Grover, a lawyer representing an aid group.
Particularly important or complex cases in India are often heard by more than one judge.
Application
Earlier this year, Novartis filed multiple cases after Indian patent authorities rejected its application for a patent on the anti-leukemia drug Gleevec, which is also spelled Glivec.
Several Indian pharmaceutical companies make generic copies of the drug and sell it at a tenth of the $2,500 (Dh9,175) price for a monthly dose charged by the Swiss drug maker.
Aid groups say tens of thousands of cancer patients in India will suffer if Novartis wins its case, banning Indian firms from making generic versions of Gleevec.
It would also set a precedent for other pharmaceutical companies seeking patent protection for essential medicines, especially those making antiretroviral Aids drugs, said Leena Menghaney at Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders.
MSF and other aid groups are supporting the Cancer Patients Aid Association, which offers treatment to some 40,000 Indian patients and has challenged Novartis's patent claim.
India's new patent law, which came into force on January 1, 2005, allows patents for products that represent new inventions after 1995 the year India joined the World Trade Organisation, which regulates patent rules for member countries.
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