It does not happen often that a court decision, especially of a court in a developing country, is anticipated, scrutinised and reported so widely as was the case with the decision of the Indian Supreme Court in April 2013. As it is known, the Supreme Court rejected the claims of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis over the patentability of its cancer drug Gleevec. As a result, cancer patients in India and some other developing countries depending on Indian imports continue to have access to the much cheaper (Indian) generic versions of the drug.
The Novartis case at the Indian Supreme Court
The Novartis case at the Indian Supreme Court
The Novartis case at the Indian Supreme Court
It does not happen often that a court decision, especially of a court in a developing country, is anticipated, scrutinised and reported so widely as was the case with the decision of the Indian Supreme Court in April 2013. As it is known, the Supreme Court rejected the claims of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis over the patentability of its cancer drug Gleevec. As a result, cancer patients in India and some other developing countries depending on Indian imports continue to have access to the much cheaper (Indian) generic versions of the drug.