Patent trouble
18 years, 1 month ago

Patent trouble

The Hindu  

The Madras High Court is set to resume hearing arguments in the case on Novartis' patent application for its cancer drug Gleevec. The petitions plead against the rejection by the Chennai Patent Office last year of a patent application for Novartis' anti-cancer drug Gleevec and submit that Section 3 of the Indian patents Act, Patents Act, 1970, which provided one of several grounds for rejecting the patent application, is invalid, illegal and unconstitutional. In the challenge to the Assistant Controller's order, Novartis argued that he did not give sufficient weight to the fact that patents for imatinib mesylate had been granted in 35 other countries, that the case law placed before him was ignored and that an in-house laboratory test performed by Novartis scientists on rats showed the 30 per cent increase in efficacy necessary for patents under Section 3. She cites two studies, one by the MSF's Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative and one by the World Health Organisation's Commission on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Public Health, whose report came out in April 2006, that found that since private pharmaceutical companies are driven by market potential, people in developing countries do not have the purchasing power to attract research and development for medicines for the diseases that most affect them. According to a study conducted by MSF, 67 per cent of the medicines produced in India are exported to developing countries; approximately 50 per cent of the medicines distributed by the United Nations Children's Fund in developing countries come from India; in Zimbabwe, 75 per cent of the tenders for medicines for all public sector health facilities come from Indian manufacturers; the state procurement agency of Lesotho, the National Drug Supply Organisation, states that it buys nearly 95 per cent of all antiretrovirals from India.

Health India Public Health Indian Companies Developing Countries Patent Cent Drug Trips Msf Medicines Cipla Frontline Patents Patent Applications Intellectual Property Rights Novartis Patents Act Gleevec Imatinib Mesylate  drug  trouble  indian  health  medicines  patent  cent  companies  india  patents  novartis

History of this topic

Patents Act | Pre-Grant Opponent Merely Aids In Holistic Examination Of Patent Application, Can't Intervene In 'Examination Process': Delhi HC
1 year, 2 months ago

Patents Act | Pre-Grant Opponent Merely Aids In Holistic Examination Of Patent Application, Can't Intervene In 'Examination Process': Delhi HC

Live Law  

The Delhi High Court has held that a pre-grant opponent under the Patents Act, 1970, merely aids the Controller in a holistic examination of the patent application and does not have a right to intervene in the “examination process” of the patent.A division bench of Justice Yashwant Varma and Justice Dharmesh Sharma observed that, unlike an adversarial process, the opposition …

Explained | The Indian patent regime and its clash with the U.S. norms
2 years, 9 months ago

Explained | The Indian patent regime and its clash with the U.S. norms

The Hindu  

The story so far: The U.S. Trade Representative said in a report released last month that India was one of the most challenging major economies as far as IP protection and enforcement is concerned. In its India section, the report highlighted a range of issues in domains ranging from copyright and piracy to trademark counterfeiting and trade secrets, saying that …

[LIVE NOW] Webinar On "Revisiting The Access To Medicine Debate In The COVID-19 Era"-
4 years ago

[LIVE NOW] Webinar On "Revisiting The Access To Medicine Debate In The COVID-19 Era"-

Live Law  

The Society for Democratic Rights, New Delhi in partnership with the Georgetown University Law Center, the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, and Institute for Technology Law and Policy at Georgetown Law invites you to a Comparative Law discussion on the topic "Revisiting the Access to Medicine Debate in the COVID-19 Era". How has India's patent law enabled …

Delhi HC Issues Notice On Plea Challenging Exemption Of New-Patented Drugs From Price Control
5 years, 1 month ago

Delhi HC Issues Notice On Plea Challenging Exemption Of New-Patented Drugs From Price Control

Live Law  

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a petition challenging Drug Amendment orders which exempt new patented drugs from the price control order for five years from the date of their marketing. It averred, "The paragraph 32 of the DPCO 2013 and 2019 Amendment thereto arbitrarily link the price control exemption of five years from the date of …

No Infringement Action Maintainable In Respect Of An Unregistered Or Revoked Patent : Delhi HC [Read Judgment]
5 years, 7 months ago

No Infringement Action Maintainable In Respect Of An Unregistered Or Revoked Patent : Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

Live Law  

The Delhi High Court has rejected the claim of Novartis seeking injunction against Natco Pharma from manufacturing a cancer drug. In the present case, Novartis AG had filed a petition seeking permanent injunction, damages, rendition of accounts and delivery up in respect of its granted patent, Indian Patent No. The Respondent, Natco Pharma Ltd, on the other hand had submitted …

Patent restricts easy access to vital drugs
6 years, 2 months ago

Patent restricts easy access to vital drugs

Deccan Chronicle  

Hyderabad: The Centre’s move to remove patents on new drugs will come as a huge relief to patients but some vital drugs are still under a 20-year-patent rule, forcing patients to pay through their nose for these medicines. But with the removal of patent, there is hope that these drugs will be easily available,” said the national president of Doctor …

How India rejects bad patents
7 years, 3 months ago

How India rejects bad patents

The Hindu  

In 2005, India made some remarkable amendments to the Indian Patents Act of 1970, to keep medicines affordable in the country. Section 3 of the Indian Patents Act, a provision introduced to restrict the patenting of new forms of known pharmaceutical substances, became the subject of international attention after its use in rejecting a patent application by Novartis for the …

Patent Battle Over Lung Cancer Drug: SC Disposes Of Cipla’s Appeal Against Roche As Withdrawn
7 years, 9 months ago

Patent Battle Over Lung Cancer Drug: SC Disposes Of Cipla’s Appeal Against Roche As Withdrawn

Live Law  

The Supreme Court’s Vacation Bench of Justices R.K.Agrawal and Sanjay Kishan Kaul, on Friday, June 16, allowed the withdrawal of the Special Leave Petitions against the Delhi High Court’s November 27, 2015 judgment holding that Cipla had infringed Roche’s patent over the lung cancer drug, erlotinib hydrochloride.The bench allowed the withdrawal on the ground that the matter has. The Supreme …

Delhi HC Upholds Order Barring Cipla From Selling Novartis' Drug Onbrez [Read Judgment]
8 years ago

Delhi HC Upholds Order Barring Cipla From Selling Novartis' Drug Onbrez [Read Judgment]

Live Law  

The Delhi High Court on Thursday upheld a single judge’s order barring pharma giant Cipla from selling copies of respiratory drug 'Onbrez' manufactured by Novartis.A division bench headed by Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed upheld the patent of Swiss pharma company Novartis.The same order was passed earlier by a single judge bench of Justice Manmohan Singh in January 2015.Justice Manmohan Singh. …

Delhi HC Upholds Order Barring Cipla From Selling Novartis' Drug Onbrez [Read Judgment]
8 years ago

Delhi HC Upholds Order Barring Cipla From Selling Novartis' Drug Onbrez [Read Judgment]

Live Law  

The Delhi High Court on Thursday upheld a single judge’s order barring pharma giant Cipla from selling copies of respiratory drug 'Onbrez' manufactured by Novartis.A division bench headed by Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed upheld the patent of Swiss pharma company Novartis.The same order was passed earlier by a single judge bench of Justice Manmohan Singh in January 2015.Justice Manmohan Singh. …

Petition filed in Delhi HC challenging patent granted to Gilead for costly Hepatitis-C drug
8 years, 10 months ago

Petition filed in Delhi HC challenging patent granted to Gilead for costly Hepatitis-C drug

Live Law  

A Writ Petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court, challenging the grant of patent to costly Hepatitis-C drug, Sovaldi. The patent, granted by Deputy Controller Dr. Rajesh Dixit, is being viewed as a complete U-turn by the Patent Office, which had rejected Gilead’s application for Sovaldi last January. Dr. Dixit however noted in the ruling that the Gilead …

Petition filed in Delhi HC challenging patent granted to Gilead for costly Hepatitis-C drug
8 years, 10 months ago

Petition filed in Delhi HC challenging patent granted to Gilead for costly Hepatitis-C drug

Live Law  

A Writ Petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court, challenging the grant of patent to costly Hepatitis-C drug, Sovaldi. The patent, granted by Deputy Controller Dr. Rajesh Dixit, is being viewed as a complete U-turn by the Patent Office, which had rejected Gilead’s application for Sovaldi last January. Dr. Dixit however noted in the ruling that the Gilead …

Gilead gets patent for Hepatitis C drug Solvadi
8 years, 10 months ago

Gilead gets patent for Hepatitis C drug Solvadi

The Hindu  

In direct contradiction to its earlier order, the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademark granted American pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences the patent for the blockbuster Hepatitis C drug Sofosbuvir in India. On Monday, however, the patent office dismissed all pre-grant oppositions and stated that it found, “claimed compounds are novel, inventive and patentable under Patents Act.” The decision is …

Patent pressures
9 years, 10 months ago

Patent pressures

The Hindu  

In its 2015 Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Rights, the office of the United States Trade Representative has retained India in its “Priority Watch List”, noting however that bilateral engagement between the two countries on IPR concerns had increased over the past year. The progressive Act has been invoked in several judgments recently in relation to pharmaceutical patents — …

Gilead’s India patent snag may spur more low-cost Sovaldi copies
10 years, 2 months ago

Gilead’s India patent snag may spur more low-cost Sovaldi copies

Live Mint  

Mumbai: The Indian patent office’s rejection of a key patent for Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Hepatitis C treatment Sovaldi may pave the way for more low-cost copies in the country, potentially aiding local companies including Natco Pharma Ltd. The New Delhi patent office this week rejected the main patent claim for Sovaldi on grounds that it “lacks novelty” and lacks an …

Delhi high court notice to Novartis on Cipla plea
10 years, 2 months ago

Delhi high court notice to Novartis on Cipla plea

Live Mint  

New Delhi: Delhi high court on Wednesday sought the response of Switzerland-based drug major Novartis AG on the plea of Indian pharma firm Cipla against an order restraining it from making its respiratory disease drug, Indaflo, till it obtains a compulsory licence. A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva, however, refused to pass any interim order to …

Defending India’s patent law
10 years, 10 months ago

Defending India’s patent law

The Hindu  

India and its intellectual property laws have been the subject of sharp criticism recently. “The TRIPS agreement does not limit the grounds on which compulsory licences can be granted, and does not prevent patent applicants from having to demonstrate enhanced efficacy for their allegedly new and useful inventions. India’s laws and experiences could provide a useful example for low-income and …

Friction over drug patents
11 years ago

Friction over drug patents

The Hindu  

Differences over intellectual property rights have emerged as a strong undercurrent in India’s economic relations with the U.S. The attempt by the influential pharmaceutical lobby to stymie India’s efforts to ensure the supply of medicines at affordable rates without violating existing treaty commitments, requires a principled response from New Delhi. At the core of the issue is what Columbia University …

Natco wins Indian patent dispute case
11 years ago

Natco wins Indian patent dispute case

The Hindu  

Natco Pharmaceuticals, the Hyderabad-based drug manufacturer, has won a patent case against Teva Pharmaceuticals of Israel. The New Delhi High Court, on February 28, dismissed Teva’s suit seeking an injunction over the marketing of a generic version of multiple sclerosis drug, copaxone in the U.S. The decision could allow Natco to launch generic version of Teva’s Copaxone in the U.S., …

India patent regime not about access to medicine: US body
11 years, 1 month ago

India patent regime not about access to medicine: US body

The Hindu  

With U.S Trade Representative Michael Froman set to announce a trade enforcement action tied to India, the highly influential U.S Chamber of Commerce has lashed out at India’s recent pattern of pharma patent denials, pointing out that the country’s actions “are not about access to medicine.” In the case of Swiss drug-maker Novartis, whose cancer drug’s patent protections were dismissed …

Patent challenge
11 years, 5 months ago

Patent challenge

The Hindu  

IT has been more than a year since the first compulsory licence was granted to an Indian company manufacturing generic drugs to produce a patented drug. Anand Grover, senior advocate and director of Lawyers’ Collective, said: “There has been a barrage of patent infringement suits against generic drug companies since 2009.” The most recent challenge to Natco’s compulsory licence that …

Patent lies and convenient truths
11 years, 6 months ago

Patent lies and convenient truths

The Hindu  

Even as the campaign by U.S. drug majors to paint India as a haven for intellectual property pirates intensifies, the government has swung into action to stem the false propaganda. It is difficult to take issue with Ms Rao’s piece, not least because she makes fair and reasonable points; but then again, the qualifier is “reasonable.” In pertinent part, she …

Why Novartis case will help innovation
11 years, 11 months ago

Why Novartis case will help innovation

The Hindu  

On April 1, 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the Intellectual Property Appellate Board’s decision to deny patent protection to Novartis’s application covering a beta crystalline form of imatinib —the medicine Novartis brands as Glivec, and which is very effective against the form of cancer known as chronic myeloid leukaemia. Thirdly, the Supreme Court judgment effectively recast Indian patent law as …

Patent justice
11 years, 11 months ago

Patent justice

The Hindu  

The rejection of the Novartis petition challenging one of the most progressive tenets of the Indian Patents Act, as amended in 2005 by the Supreme Court, is a landmark verdict for the public health community and the generic drugs industry, in particular, and for global health. Under the amended Indian Patents Act, Section 3 allows drug companies to obtain product …

A just order
12 years ago

A just order

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court order rejecting a plea to grant patent protection for Glivec, a cancer-fighting drug from Novartis, is a landmark. That pharmaceutical companies employ high pricing to limit the number of beneficiaries of “blockbuster” patented molecules and even older “evergreened” medicines is an irony, because making additional copies of a drug is not expensive. The court order should prompt …

Artful claims can’t decide patent law: court
12 years ago

Artful claims can’t decide patent law: court

The Hindu  

The law of patent in India could not be developed on the artful drafting of claims by companies rather than on the intrinsic worth of invention, the Supreme Court has ruled, rejecting Novartis’ claim for patent for its cancer drug. A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai said, “We certainly do not wish the law of patent… to …

Novartis judgement will hit investments in medicine: US commerce body
12 years ago

Novartis judgement will hit investments in medicine: US commerce body

Firstpost  

Supreme Court of India’s decision to deny patent to Swiss firm Novartis for its cancer drug Glivec will negatively impact the ability of companies to invest in medical and technological advancements, the US Chamber of Commerce said. Washington: Supreme Court of India’s decision to deny patent to Swiss firm Novartis for its cancer drug Glivec will negatively impact the ability …

Novartis patent case: Section 3(d) of Indian Patent Act explained
12 years ago

Novartis patent case: Section 3(d) of Indian Patent Act explained

Firstpost  

This section states that inventions that are a mere “discovery” of a “new form” of a “known substance” and do not result in increased efficacy of that substance are not patentable. In its verdict, the Supreme Court said that the drug showed no new innovation or invention and therefore did not satisfy the criteria under section 3 of the Indian …

Landmark verdict, say pharma bodies
12 years ago

Landmark verdict, say pharma bodies

The Hindu  

The Indian pharmaceutical industry and health aid agencies have welcomed the judgment of the Supreme Court which has upheld the refusal by the Patent Office to grant multi-national pharma giant Novartis a patent for the beta-polymorphic form of imatinib mesylate sold as Glivec and used in the treatment of cancer. “This is a landmark judgment that will serve to set …

Boost for cheaper drugs: SC rejects Novartis patent on Glivec
12 years ago

Boost for cheaper drugs: SC rejects Novartis patent on Glivec

Firstpost  

A decision in the seven-year legal battle is keenly awaited by the two most interested parties- big pharma companies and health aid groups - with both sides saying the outcome will set a precedent with far-reaching consequences for the future availability of the drugs. New Delhi: In a landmark judgement, India’s Supreme Court today rejected a patent plea by Swiss …

Landmark verdict gives big boost to cancer patients
12 years ago

Landmark verdict gives big boost to cancer patients

The Hindu  

In a ruling that will help patients continue to buy several life-saving medicines as generic drugs, the Supreme Court on Monday held that the modification of a well known cancer-fighting drug is not a patentable new invention. Observers say that the Court’s judgment sets a precedent against the practice of “evergreening” — a strategy through which drug manufacturers introduce modifications …

India revokes Roche patent; questions high price of drug
12 years, 4 months ago

India revokes Roche patent; questions high price of drug

Firstpost  

The Intellectual Property Appellate Board cited a lack of evidence that the drug was any better than existing treatments and its high price as reasons for the decision. India dealt a fresh blow to the international pharmaceutical industry on Friday as its patents appeal board revoked a patent granted six years ago on Roche’s hepatitis C drug Pegasys. The decision …

US pushing India to hike cancer drug price
12 years, 8 months ago

US pushing India to hike cancer drug price

Firstpost  

Rea’s testimony is only the most explicit example of the Obama administration’s efforts to use intellectual property manoeuvring to inflate medical costs abroad. Obama administration’s multiple “strategies to affect drug pricing abroad by using American international political muscle”, according to a Huffington Post investigative report, became apparent in a testimony by US Patent and Trademark Office deputy director Teresa Stanek …

India’s patent protection regime to be key issue in talks with US
12 years, 10 months ago

India’s patent protection regime to be key issue in talks with US

Live Mint  

New Delhi: India’s patent protection regime will be a key issue in next month’s strategic dialogue with the US, against the backdrop of a landmark ruling by the Indian patent office allowing Natco Pharma Ltd to make and sell a copy of German drug maker Bayer AG’s patented cancer treatment Nexavar. It added, “the United States will closely monitor developments …

Patent to plunder
12 years, 10 months ago

Patent to plunder

The Hindu  

India's efforts to produce and supply life-saving drugs at affordable prices face challenges from multinational companies trying to evergreen their patents. Simultaneously, Novartis filed two writ petitions in the Madras High Court, one challenging the decision of the patent office and the other challenging Section 3 of the Patents Act. In March 2012, the Indian patent office issued a compulsory …

The current patent system is deeply flawed'
12 years, 10 months ago

The current patent system is deeply flawed'

The Hindu  

Interview with Shamnad Basheer, Intellectual Property Law Professor at NUJS. Excerpts: In your written submission to the Supreme Court in the Novartis case, you have supported the Madras High Court's and the Intellectual Property Appellate Board's interpretation of Section 3 of the Indian Patents Act. Illustratively, the Explanation to Section 3 clearly states that all pharmaceutical derivatives would be considered …

India rejects patent claims on two HIV/AIDS drugs
15 years, 6 months ago

India rejects patent claims on two HIV/AIDS drugs

The Hindu  

The Indian Patent Office has rejected applications from two U.S. pharmaceutical companies on grounds of "evergreening", raising hopes of a further lowering of prices of two life-saving drugs used by HIV/AIDS patients in the country. India's rejection of the patent applications is a big step in ensuring that patients in India and in other poor/developing countries will continue to have …

A Showdown Over India's Generic Drugs
17 years, 11 months ago

A Showdown Over India's Generic Drugs

Wired  

Indian pharmaceutical companies have traditionally provided the developing world with generic versions of patented drugs. Last year, under pressure from western countries and pharmaceutical companies, India agreed to restrict the number of drugs that could be legally copied. However, India drew the line at extending patent protection to minor modifications of existing drugs, a technique routinely used to get a …

A costly prescription
20 years, 1 month ago

A costly prescription

The Hindu  

The United Progressive Alliance government's promulgation of an ordinance amending the Patents Act of 1970, a model piece of legislation hailed around the world for checking exploitation by pharmaceutical MNCs, draws international criticism. "Invention", as defined by the ordinance, is too broad and could lead to "ever-greening", that is, filing patent applications for new forms of older patented drugs and …

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