-Economic and Political Weekly While the Supreme Court decision in the recent Novartis case has cleared the way for production of generic drugs in India, doctors have to prescribe cheaper alternatives to costly brands if patients with limited means are to benefit. What is being hailed as a victory in the struggle for affordable medicines in the country will actually be one only when there is a pro-patient slant to the...

-The Hindu     This can help reconcile differences:WIPO Director-General Istanbul: The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a United Nations body, has pointed out the need for a second interpretation of global intellectual property law, one that balances social benefit with the need to protect investment. This balancing could help reconcile the differences between developing nations such as India, and the concerns of multi-national companies and developed nations, according to Francis Gurry, Director-General of the...

-The Times of India JAIPUR: In a major relief for blood cancer patients, the state's health department is all set to provide Imatinib tablets ("magic bullet" tablets) free of cost to them. The government's decision follows the April 1 Supreme Court decision to dismiss Swiss drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to win patent protection for its cancer drug Glivec (Imatinib). Currently the tablet is sold in the market by Novartis at...

-Frontline   The Supreme Court's ruling against Novartis' patent claim for the cancer drug Glivec paves the way for generic drug companies to keep crucial, life-saving drugs affordable to the common people. By V. VENKATESAN IN their 112-page judgment delivered on April 1, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai of the Supreme Court began with a simple proposition: in order to understand what the law really is, it is essential to...

The recent Supreme Court judgment dismissing pharma giant Novartis’ claim for patent protections in India for its award-winning and prohibitively priced anti-leukemia drug Glivec has renewed the focus on accessibly-priced drugs – in particular the failure of the Indian public healthcare system and health policy to ensure affordable drugs for all. Studies show that as much as 70% of health spending in India comes from out-of-pocket payments, with 50-80% of...