-Live Mint SC rejects Novartis's patent plea for Glivec, says it does not meet any standard of novelty or inventiveness In a landmark judgement, India's apex court rejected Swiss drug maker Novartis AG's legal challenge aimed at securing a patent for blockbuster anti-cancer drug imatinib mesylate, branded Glivec in the country. The verdict, which is seen as a setback to multinational pharmaceutical companies operating in India, may influence a rash of pending disputes...

-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 Hindu Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has termed "historic" the Supreme Court's rejection of Novartis' claim for patent for its anti-cancer drug Glivec. He said the Indian Patent Act was in conformity with its international obligations under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. "It is a historic judgment. It reaffirms the position of Indian law and, in particular, provisions of Section 3D, which mandates... a substantive...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court order rejecting a plea to grant patent protection for Glivec, a cancer-fighting drug from Novartis, is a landmark. It will greatly strengthen the quest for access to affordable medicines in India. The decision affirms the idea that a patent regime loses its social relevance when a drug is priced beyond the reach of the vast majority of a country's people. That pharmaceutical companies employ high pricing...

-Reuters Global drugmakers, battered by recent intellectual property decisions in the country, are girding for a landmark court ruling on Monday with broad consequences for their ability to sell lucrative patented medicines in the country. Supreme Court is due to decide on April 1 whether or not Swiss giant Novartis AG's cancer treatment Glivec deserves a patent in the country. "Big Pharma is nervous because nothing has gone in their favour in the...