The Hindu Business Line : Madras HC to hear Novartis plea on Glivec today

Legal battle
The Glivec case will set a precedent for several life-saving AIDS and cancer drugs.
Companies should be discouraged from re-working an old drug and patenting it.

Mumbai , Aug. 22

Cancer patients will be among the several stakeholders interested in the developments at the Madras High Court on Wednesday, where a writ filed by Novartis against the Indian Patent Controller's decision on its cancer-drug Glivec is expected to come up for hearing.

The writ was filed by the Swiss drug-maker challenging the Patent Controller's decision to reject Novartis' patent application on Glivec, besides seeking an interim stay, among other things.

As Novartis goes though with the legal procedures in Chennai tomorrow, cancer patient groups and representatives of non-government organisations will hold demonstrations at Novartis' office in Mumbai.

The Glivec case will set a precedent for several life-saving AIDS and cancer drugs, observes Mr Y.K. Sapru, Founder-Chairman of the Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA), one of the organisations locked in a legal battle with Novartis over Glivec. Companies should be discouraged from re-working an old drug and patenting it, he added.

Glivec is the brand name under which Novartis sells `imatinib mesylate' and pricing lies at the heart of the controversy surrounding it. The drug is used to treat chronic Myeloid Leukaemia.

Novartis' Glivec costs a patient about Rs 1 lakh a month, while its generic or copycat drugs cost about Rs 10,000 per month. Some of the domestic players making similar or generic version of Glivec include Natco, Cipla, Ranbaxy and Hetero. Globally Glivec grossed about $ 2.9 billion in sales.

Novartis officials, however, point out that they give Glivec free to needy patients. The company has given free Glivec, worth over Rs 1,200 crore to about 5,700 patients, a Novartis official told Business Line.

CPAA's Ms Shubha Maudgal points out that the concern further extends to other drugs. MabThera from Roche costs over Rs 1 lakh and is given in about six cycles; Roche's Herceptin costs about Rs 1 lakh a month and so does its Avastin, she said. Taxol from Bristol Myers Squibb costs about Rs 70,000 per cycle, she added, pointing out the unaffordability of these drugs. And a drug like Glivec needs to be taken life-long, she said.

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