The Swiss-based pharmaceutical giant novartis is taking the state of India to court in a case that has, after rumbling about in the lower courts for six years, wound up as a very public litmus test of the legal framework sustaining India’s generic drugs revolution.  With the case due before the Supreme Court on 28 March, the fate of millions who depend on affordable Indian medicines may soon hang in the...

Kiran Bedi, one of the most vocal members of Team Anna, who riled Members of Parliament with her Ramlila ghoonghat act, may herself have some explaining to do. The issue: the inflated travel expenses she has been charging NGOs and institutions which invite her for seminars or meetings.   Records of bills, invoices and copies of cheques with The Indian Express show that Bedi, who is entitled to a rebate on Air...

The Union health ministry today banned the manufacture and sale of a drug called letrozole to treat infertility in women, four years after its own drug regulators had waived safety studies and relaxed rules to approve the medicine. In a statement notifying the ban, the ministry said the drug “is likely to involve risk to human beings and safer alternatives are available”. The drug has been used to treat breast cancer in...

Will patent rights be used only for ensuring the legitimate interests of pharmaceutical companies, or will these be used in an exaggerated and unjust way to deprive patients of their right to life? This crucial question, which has been debated time and again in the context of the significant case of Glivec, an anti-cancer drug, has now reached a critical stage. It may be pointed out here that as early as...

Mulling It Over     100% FDI allowed in pharma sector through automatic route     Seven top Indian firms have been acquired by MNCs in the past six years     Fear of price rise in generic medicines if MNCs control market     Health, commerce ministries want FDI to go through approvals     PMO meeting key ministries next month to take a decision *** Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has always been firm in reminding domestic industry that their fear...