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TRADE: HIGH STAKES IN DRUG GIANT'S APPEAL TO INDIAN PATENT LAW.

Publication: Interpress Service
Publication Date: 01-FEB-07 		Format: Online
Delivery: Immediate Online Access

Article Excerpt
by Praful Bidwai

NEW DELHI, Feb. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A legal battle launched by Swiss pharmaceuticals multinational has led health activists to mount a campaign against drug monopolies and the people's right to medicines at affordable prices.

Drug giant Novartis is challenging sections of the Indian Patents Act of 1970, amended in 2005, that disallows patents for slightly modified drugs which do not constitute a new formulation.

The company is appealing the rejection by the Indian Patents Office of its application for a patent on Gleevec/Glivec, a drug commonly used to treat leukemia patients. Novartis also claims that portions of the patent law are unconstitutional because they are incompatible with the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights agreement (TRIPs) under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

At stake is not just the fate of the Indian drug industry, described as "the pharmacy of the developing world," but the life and well-being of millions of users the world over.

If Novartis' challenge succeeds, Indian manufacturers of...

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