US-India Business Council has concerns over India's ruling on Novartis' Glivec

This week’s long awaited Supreme Court of India ruling, which denied a patent on Swiss drug major Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) Glivec (imatinib mesylate), has been questioned by the US-India Business Council (USIBC). The court’s decision cites Section 3 (d) of India’s patent law and states that a patentee must prove enhanced efficacy of a medicine in order to obtain a patent in India (The Pharma Letter April 2).

Over 40 countries including China, Russia and Taiwan have already granted a patent for
Glivec and India now stands out as unique for not granting a patent to this incremental innovation, the USIBC said, noting that the denial of the Glivec patent may now exclude from patentability many other significant inventions in the pharmaceuticals area.

USIBC president Ron Somers stated: “Innovation requires the reward and protection of intellectual property. We are certain India's leadership understands this, and that creating and maintaining an environment that inspires and enables innovation is in India's ultimate, long-term interest. Such an environment is crucial if India is to attract investment in this or other highly complex sectors.”