The AP (4/1, George) reports, "India's
Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent a
new version of" cancer treatment Glivec (imatinib mesylate), "in a
landmark decision that healthcare activists say ensures poor patients around
the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving
medicines." The case "has global implications since India's $26
billion generic drug industry supplies much of the cheap medicine used in the
developing world." India's patent office didn't issue a fresh patent for
the medicine "because it was not a new medicine but an amended version of
its earlier product," citing "a legal provision in India's 2005
patent law aimed at preventing companies from getting fresh patents for making
only minor changes," which is called "evergreening."
The New York Times (4/1, Harris, Subscription
Publication) reports, "The court's ruling confirmed that India's 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." The Times adds, "In recent
decades, the United States has become increasingly insistent that countries
wishing to do business there adopt far more stringent patent protection rules,
with the result that poorer patients often lose access to cheap generic copies
of medicines when their governments undertake trade agreements with the United
States."
Bloomberg News (4/1, Von Schaper, Patnaik)
reports the decision was "watched by non-profit groups seeking to expand
access to medicines and drugmakers concerned about India's position on
intellectual property." This "may add to concern among Western
pharmaceutical companies that India is allowing domestic generic-drug makers to
profit from products that deserve patent protection." India also
"angered pharmaceutical companies by allowing generic-drug makers to produce
copies of patent-protected medicines to ensure they're available in the country
at affordable prices."
The BBC News (4/1) reports a month of Glivec costs
about $2,600, compared to $175 for the same amount of its generic equivalent in
India. Reuters (4/1, Mohanty, Kulkarni) also covers
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