-The Economic Times WASHINGTON: Big Pharma found little support from the small guy on the street as the Indian Supreme Court's decision to reject patent claims of the drug maker Novartis for its celebrated cancer medicine Glivec reverberated across the world. The pharma lobby railed against the decision but the overwhelming sentiment, from physicians to politicians, from academia to media, particularly in a country groaning from the high cost of health care,...

-The Business Standard Interview with Founder chairman of Cancer Patients Aid Association Though the legal battle over Glivec's patentability may be over for now, Y K Sapru, the man spearheading the fight against Swiss multinational Novartis, isn't Resting. Sapru, founder chairman of Cancer Patients Aid Association, or CPAA (which moved the Supreme Court to keep the prices of the cancer drug low), tells Sushmi Dey what the judgment means to cancer patients....

-The Indian Express The State Election Commission moving the Calcutta High Court against the Mamata Banerjee government's unilateral declaration of panchayat election dates is a stunning development. Whatever the outcome of the court battle, the state already stands to accept that the dates it had proposed - April 26, 30 - are not going to be the schedule for the rural polls under any circumstances. Besides, it is largely believed that the...

-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 MUMBAI: Turf war between Big Pharma and generic companies, which was largely Restricted to exorbitantly priced life-saving drugs for cancer and HIV, is now spilling over to other chronic ailments like diabetes, and threatening to change dynamics of the nearly Rs 70,000 crore Indian pharma market. Triggering a full-blown patent fight with US-based Merck, domestic generic company Glenmark has launched a more affordable version of the multinational's blockbuster...