-The Economic Times MUMBAI: In a victory to generic drugmakers, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) of Chennai has dismissed German pharma major Bayer's plea, seeking a stay on the Compulsory Licence issued to Hyderabad-based drugmaker Natco. The Compulsory Licence (CL) issued by the Controller of Patents in March this year allowed Natco to make and sell a generic version of Nexavar - used for treating liver and kidney Cancer - at...

-The Telegraph Swiss pharma company Novartis today told the Supreme Court that if it gets an Indian patent on its anti-Cancer drug Glivec, it would continue giving free drugs to 85 per cent patients till 2018 provided prices were left untouched. But the court described its scheme of classifying people on the basis of their incomes as “too complicated” and again urged the company to reduce prices. Whatever the scheme, the end result...

-The Times of India Putting health over revenue, the Delhi government on Monday announced a ban on all gutka products in the capital. The ban, which includes sale, manufacture, distribution, transportation, display and storage of these products, is expected to take effect in a day or two. The ban will cover pan masalas containing tobacco and other packaged chewing tobacco products. "Our government was always in favour of putting a ban on gutka...

-Live Mint Cipla Ltd won a landmark patent case against Swiss drug maker F Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd in the Delhi high court on Friday over the Indian company’s generic copy of lung Cancer drug Tarceva after a four-year court battle. Justice Manmohan Singh observed in his 280-page judgement that it had been scientifically proven that Cipla’s generic version was a polymorph B variant of Roche’s patented drug and that it didn’t actually...

-The Times of India Hooked to organic food for its supposed health benefits? Here's some food for thought. In the largest analysis of studies till date on organic food, researchers from Stanford University have said there is "little evidence of healthier benefits from organic food over those grown conventionally". The researchers found no difference in protein or fat content between organic and conventional milk. No consistent differences were also seen in the...