Bayer attempts to block generic Nexavar in India again slammed by MSF

German drug major Bayer (BAYN: DE) yesterday headed to India’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board in Chennai in a bid to overturn a compulsory licence which has allowed more affordable generic versions of its cancer drug Nexavar (sorafenib tosylate), to be produced in the interests of public health, said the international humanitarian health organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) which criticized Bayer for the move.

“Bayer's appeal against this landmark ruling in India is predictable; they're using litigation rather than addressing the reality that their prices are too high,” said Leena Menghaney, campaign manager in India for MSF’s Access Campaign, adding: “It is not the use of a compulsory licence that should be challenged, but the continued pursuit of excessively high profits over public health needs."

When the hearing was delayed last month (The Pharma Letter August 22), Bayer told TPL that the company strongly disagrees with the conclusions of the Patent Controller of India and appealed his order on May 4, 2012, with the Intellectual Property Appellate Board. Bayer said: “The challenges faced by the Indian health care system have little or nothing to do with patents on pharmaceutical products as all products on India’s essential drug list are not patented. Rather, the order of the Patent Controller of India damages the international patent system and endangers pharmaceutical research. The limited period of marketing exclusivity made possible by patents ensures that the costs associated with the research and development of innovative medicines can be recovered.”