STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 1 April 2013

[Fuddnik]

47. Novartis loses landmark drug patent battle in India

Novartis loses landmark drug patent battle in India
Source: NBC News.com

The Associated Press , Staff – 5 hrs.
Novartis loses landmark drug patent battle in India

People gather at Novartis India headquarters in Mumbai April 1, 2013. India's top court dismissed Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG's attempt to win patent protection for its cancer drug Glivec.
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India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent an updated version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines.

Novartis had argued that it needed a patent to protect its investment in the cancer drug Glivec, while activists said the drug did not merit intellectual property protection in India because it was not a new medicine. In response to the ruling, Novartis said it would not invest in drug research in India.

The court's decision has global significance since India's $26 billion generic drug industry, which supplies much of the cheap medicine used in the developing world, could be stunted if Indian law allowed global drug companies to extend the lifespan of patents by making minor changes to medicines.

Once a drug's patent expires, generic manufacturers can legally produce it. They are able to make drugs at a fraction of the original manufacturer's cost because they don't carry out the expensive research and development.

Pratibha Singh, a lawyer for the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla, which makes a version of Glivec for less than a tenth of the original drug's selling price, said the court ruled that a patent could only be given to a new drug, and not to those which are only slightly different from the original.

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Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/novartis-loses-landmark-drug-patent-battle-india-1C9145349