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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Supreme Court's Glivec ruling will ruin innovation

Supreme Court's Glivec ruling will ruin innovation

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published Published on Apr 2, 2013   modified Modified on Apr 2, 2013
-The Economic Times

Extension of life is priceless. Simply priceless." These were the words of Venkat Krishnan (name changed) to Novartis after receiving treatment with Glivec for about two years. Following his diagnosis with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), Venkat married his college sweetheart against the wishes of her family. After all, the prognosis in those days for people suffering from CML was not promising.

Taking interferon, a powerful immune therapy, was the only choice available until Glivec became available. Venkat shares a common story with others who went through the rigours of chemotherapy before the advent of Glivec. Through research, Novartis, like other innovation-based pharmaceutical companies, offers the gift of hope to Venkat and millions of other people suffering with life-threatening illness.

AMindset and the Future

Today's Supreme Court judgment on the Glivec case means that innovator companies like Novartis will see little protection for intellectual property. It means that generic companies will be free to copy. And it means India will not grow into the scientific leader and innovator it has the potential to become. There is a much more powerful future for our country, but to achieve it we have to change from being a protectionist economy to one that encourages industry to innovate and make breakthrough medicines.

Indian pharmaceutical companies have a confused mindset. On the one hand, they position themselves as the pharmacy to the world by supplying generic medicines. On the other hand, Indian pharma industry leaders dream of a research driven industry. Would it not be better for the Indian pharma industry to first be the pharmacy to India? Those who stand up for the pharmacy of the world would do well to look at the balance sheets of these companies.

The Pharma Problem

They export their products to markets where they can make a profit; they sell more in wealthy nations than in their own country or even in poorer nations around the world. Shouldn't that in and of itself say something? After all, two-thirds of India's population have little or no access to modern healthcare, even at the lower prices of generics.

It is time for India to seek to reach its potential by innovating rather than imitating. It is time for homegrown pharmaceutical companies to live up to the dreams they have. The late Dr Anji Reddy, founder of Dr Reddy's Laboratories, often espoused his vision to establish India's first discovery-led global pharmaceutical company. Glenmark's vision is to emerge as a leading integrated research-based global pharma company. Sun Pharma talks of leadership through focused research.

The government, for its part, needs to focus on improving healthcare infrastructure. Access and affordability are two pieces of a complex healthcare puzzle. India's poor will continue to suffer until a variety of issues such as lack of diagnosis, healthcare infrastructure and distribution are solved. Trained healthcare staff and infrastructure, cultural acceptability of treatment, accessibility of healthcare facilities and quality of care all play a role in making medicines available.

How to Hurt Patients

Limiting intellectual property protection and creating barriers to market access will only inhibit India's own pharmaceutical industry from developing products for India, while doing little to improve accessibility of medicines for its population. Sustainable solutions to India's healthcare concerns should be found through programs that address the lack of healthcare financing. As the second largest manufacturer of generics in the world, Novartis is aware that generics alone do not solve the issue of access. In fact, without innovation and patents there would be no new medicines and without new medicines there would be no new generics. Novartis is committed to patients and access to medicines. In 2012, our access-to-medicines programs, valued at $ 2 billion, reached 100 million patients. In India, our patient access program for Glivec is one of the most far-reaching programs ever conceived. We have been providing Glivec free of charge to 95% of patients prescribed the drug and the balance 5% are on a very generous copay program. Since Novartis began the access program for Glivec in 2002, we have provided Glivec valued at more than $ 1.7 billion completely free to patients in India. It is now 15 years since Venkat was diagnosed. He has since started afamily and leads a normal life. Putting in 10-12 hours of work a day is not unusual for him. He is like any other man trying to build a future for himself and his family. He could be your friend, neighbor or colleague - just about anybody. That is the magic of innovation, which may be soon lost forever in India if we do not change our path. And, sadly, the biggest losers are patients in need of new treatments.

The writer is Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Novartis India


The Economic Times, 2 April, 2013, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/supreme-courts-glivec-ruling-will-ruin-innovation/articleshow/19335032.cms


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