I-MAK challenges Gilead sofosbuvir patent in India

USA-based advocacy group the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge last week filed a challenge at the Kolkata Patent Office in India, challenging US biotech firm Gilead Sciences’ (Nasdaq: GILD) patent for its hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir (proposed trade name Sovaldi), a move that has been welcomed by the Open Society Foundations.

The challenge would prevent Gilead from holding the monopoly on sofosbuvir's production and pricing. This would allow Indian manufacturers to produce a cheaper generic version of the medicine, a first step toward making it available other low-and middle-income countries.

Drug “not innovative enough” to warrant patent