Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath has welcomed the Madras High Court's verdict of quashing Swiss pharma major Novartis' challenge to a patent law.
"Only one company had raised the issue. From the time the law was made, for the past two years, no one had raised any objections that it is not WTO compliant," Nath said on the sidelines of signing an agreement with Switzerland on intellectual property rights.
Novartis Challenge to Indian Patent Laws Fails
Novartis has lost its efforts to get an Indian court to declare that the country's patent laws are not in keeping with the WTO rules and this means that its anti-cancer drug Gleevac cannot be patented in India.
Advertisement
Nath said time had proved that the Indian law that denied patents for minor improvements to known drugs did not lead to any increase in prices.
"When this law was made, I had told in the Parliament that prices will not rise. It has been two years, and time is the biggest witness that the prices have not risen because of the law," he said.
The court rejected the challenge, saying it had no jurisdiction on whether Indian patent laws complied with intellectual property rules set by the WTO, as Novartis had questioned.
Novartis is expected to make a statement soon on the court order.
Novartis had filed a similar case against the South African Government in 2001, which tried to roll out HIV anti-retro viral drugs in its own country by granting licenses.
The Swiss company has said the Indian patent system stifles innovation.
Critics of Novartis say changes to the law would affect the supply of affordable anti-AIDS drugs from India, one of the biggest makers of generic drugs.
Novartis had moved the Madras High Court against a law that blocks the patenting of minor improvements in known molecules.
The Swiss pharmaceutical firm argued tightening of intellectual property laws would increase investment for developing more drugs.
Source: ANI
SRM/J
Advertisement
The court rejected the challenge, saying it had no jurisdiction on whether Indian patent laws complied with intellectual property rules set by the WTO, as Novartis had questioned.
Novartis is expected to make a statement soon on the court order.
Novartis had filed a similar case against the South African Government in 2001, which tried to roll out HIV anti-retro viral drugs in its own country by granting licenses.
The Swiss company has said the Indian patent system stifles innovation.
Critics of Novartis say changes to the law would affect the supply of affordable anti-AIDS drugs from India, one of the biggest makers of generic drugs.
Novartis had moved the Madras High Court against a law that blocks the patenting of minor improvements in known molecules.
The Swiss pharmaceutical firm argued tightening of intellectual property laws would increase investment for developing more drugs.
Source: ANI
SRM/J
Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Latest Drug News
The CDSCO has approved the intravenous administration of AstraZeneca Pharma India's liver cancer drug, Tremelimumab Concentrate.
The FDA advises consumers not to use compounded medications as an alternative to known diabetic and weight reduction medications Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy.
Addressing the unmet needs of Parkinson's Disease by providing disease-modifying therapies could bring about a major shift in the way that patients are treated.
Microrobots could swirl through a person's blood stream, search for targeted areas to treat for various ailments.
Supplementation with multivitamins is an inexpensive way for older adults to slow down memory loss.