MSF accuses Novartis of trying to weaken Indian patent law

Novartis (NOVN: VX ) goes before the Indian Supreme Court today in the latest attempt by the Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company to undermine a key public health safeguard in Indian patent law specifically designed to prevent drug companies from abusively patenting known medicines. If successful, the move would have a devastating impact on access to affordable medicines across the developing world, according to international humanitarian medical organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

“Novartis is trying to straightjacket Indian patent offices. It wants to stop them from being able to reject patents on new forms of old medicines that show little improved therapeutic efficacy,” said Leena Menghaney, India manager of the MSF Access Campaign. “The system we have now is not perfect, but it does prevent drug companies from getting unjustified 20 year monopolies every time they come up with a new use or a new form of a known medicine. Novartis wants to make this safeguard meaningless, whatever the consequences it may have on public health.”

Challenging Section 3(d) of patent law