India Glivec patent case

Case update:

The High Court in Chennai dismissed the writ petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 3(d), and deferred to the World Trade Organization (WTO) forum to resolve the TRIPS compliance question.

In the separate Glivec patent appeal, Novartis petitioned the High Court in Chennai for a new technical member of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). We disagreed with the appointment of the former Controller General of the Indian Patent Office to the IPAB. The High Court accepted the approach put forth by the Government of India suggesting that the Glivec patent appeal be heard at the Intellectual Property Appellate Board by a two member Bench comprising a Chairman and Vice Chairman, instead of the official three-member panel structure. The Court ruled that the Chairman could also act as a technical member of the Bench. IPAB hearings continue. We expect the opportunity to have our case heard by an impartial board, Glivec – our life-saving drug for cancer, which is patented in nearly 40 countries – should be granted a patent in India.

Read the press release

Read the German release

Read the French release

Addressing innovation dilemmas in emerging markets: Glivec case advances debate in India

 

 

Novartis is seeking clarity in Indian patent laws, a critical incentive for long-term R&D investments into better medicines for patients.

• Patents help patients and save lives by creating incentives for long-term R&D investments that lead to innovative medicines for currently unmet medical needs
• Potential changes in Indian patent law would not hinder the supply of essential medicines to poor countries due to safeguards in international WTO agreements
• Glivec/Gleevec patent granted in nearly 40 countries, including China; since 2002, Novartis has helped more than 23 000 patients in more than 80 countries through the Glivec International Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP)
• Our access to medicine programs reached over 66 million patients in 2007 valued at USD 937 million; 99% of patients who are prescribed Glivec in India receive it free from Novartis

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FACT vs. FICTION of the India Glivec patent case