-The Hindu Drug patents are designed to create profits that enable more research on diseases affecting millions. But in practice, they have often generated super profits for big pharma companies while erecting access barriers for the poor. The Novartis case spotlights much that is wrong with the system. The rejection of the Novartis petition challenging one of the most progressive tenets of the Indian Patents Act (1970), as amended in 2005 by...
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Rajasthan launches free diagnosis scheme today
-The Times of India JAIPUR: A free diagnosis scheme which had been on a trial run since April 1 would be launched throughout Rajasthan in a phased manner from Sunday on the eve of the World Health Day. Under the scheme, patients can undergo 57 free diagnostic tests at government hospitals linked to medical colleges. Another 44 tests would be offered free of cost at district and satellite hospitals. The scheme's second...
More »Novartis patent ruling a victory in battle for affordable medicines-Sarah Boseley
-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...
More »A question of standards, not principle-Vinay Sitapati
-The Indian Express India is no insecure dictatorship junking international obligations for cheap populism. The highest court of the world's largest democracy has made a nuanced distinction between real innovation and marketing gimmickry. Yet, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis's response to the recent Supreme Court verdict in Novartis vs Union of India has been imperial in tone. The judgment "discourages innovative drug discovery", it claimed. It accused Indian law of lagging...
More »Domestic firms rejoicing on Glivec verdict-Sushmi Dey
-The Business Standard Now, local firms can sell their low-priced generic version of the drug in India and export it to developing markets, where it is not patented Domestic drug firms such as Cipla, Natco, Ranbaxy and Hetero are a happier lot following the Supreme Court verdict on Monday, dismissing Novartis AG's patent plea for anti-cancer drug imatinib mesylate or Glivec, as sold by the Swiss drug maker. This is because the judgement...
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