-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 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 Business Standard Court denies Swiss drug firm patent protection for its anti-cancer drug Glivec; domestic industry hails verdict The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed Novartis AG's appeal for patent protection of its anti-cancer drug, Glivec, putting an end to a seven-year battle between the Swiss drug maker, several domestic generic manufacturers, as well as patient groups fighting for affordable medicines. A Bench of judges Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai said in a...

-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...

-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...