-The Guardian Had Novartis won, it would have set a precedent for patenting of other medicines in India, delaying their reaching the poor   The battle for affordable, life-saving medicines for poor countries was once waged on first-world city streets with banners and placards. But for some years now it has been a long-hard legal slog in offices and courtrooms. A decade or so ago, it was mostly about access to Aids drugs. Firms...

-The Economic Times To ensure access to healthcare for all, India must harness innovation in discovering drugs, in developing therapeutics and in delivering affordable healthcare. It is in the light of these facts that one should evaluate the impact of the Indian Supreme Court's ruling in the case involving patent protection for Novartis AG's cancer drug, Glivec. Glivec was the first-of-its-kind cancer drug for leukaemia patients with patent protection in nearly 40...

-The Business Standard Patients' lobbies cheer ruling on anti-cancer drug Glivec, as affordability and access to life-saving drugs get a leg-up Though the India office here of Swiss pharma giant Novartis wore a gloomy look following the Supreme Court rejection of its Glivec patent application, Indian pharmaceutical companies and patients' associations are in celebration mood. D G Shah, secretary general, The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), comprising leading research-based Indian pharma companies, said,...

-The Times of India The Supreme Court on Monday rejected pharma giant Novartis AG's plea to preserve its patent over a life-saving cancer drug, Glivec, drawing a huge sigh of relief from thousands of patients in India and in dozens of developing countries as the fear of an almost 15-fold escalation of drug costs receded. It is the biggest setback for multinational pharma companies, which have been denied patent protection...

-The Hindu   Supreme Court rejects Novartis' plea for patent; green signal for cheaper generic drugs In a ruling that will help patients continue to buy several life-saving medicines as generic drugs, the Supreme Court on Monday held that the modification of a well known cancer-fighting drug is not a patentable new invention. The judgment allows suppliers to continue making generic copies of Swiss firm Novartis' Glivec or Gleevec, which has been shown to...