| India's Supreme Court docket with Friday refused medication maker Novartis AG's to patent the latest version of any cancer medication in a very landmark choice that healthcare activists declare makes sure the indegent are certain to get extended usage of low-cost, universal versions regarding lifesaving remedies. Novartis had argued that it needed to new patent to protect its investment in the cancer drug Glivec while activists said the company was trying to use loopholes to make more money out of a drug whose patent had expired. The cheap medicines produced by India's $26 billion generic drug industry are a lifeline for the poor in many developing countries. The ruling sets a precedent that will prevent international pharmaceutical companies from obtaining fresh patents in India on updated versions of existing drugs, said Pratibha Singh, a lawyer for the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla. The court ruled that a patent could only be given to a new drug, she told reporters outside the court. "Patents will be given only for genuine inventions, and repetitive patents will not be given for minor tweaks to an existing drug," Singh said. Novartis has fought a legal battle in India since 2006 for a fresh patent for its leukemia drug Gleevec, known in India and Europe as Glivec. India's obvious place of work got invalidated the company's obvious program because doing so was not a fresh medication yet a great amended edition connected with it is earlier product |
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