India considering attaching a compulsory license label to ribociclib

The Kerela High Court in India has directed the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade to consider compulsory licensing of breast cancer drug ribociclib.

Ribociclib is manufactured by Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX. Available in India as Kryxana (Kisqali in most other countries), it costs $712.63 per month and is among three drugs prescribed for late-stage luminal A breast cancer. The other two drugs available in India are Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) palbociclib and Eli Lilly’s (NYSE: LLY) (pemetrexed), and were also under patent and prohibitively expensive.

Recently, the Kerala High Court had taken suo moto cognisance of the unaffordability of the drug after the tragic death of the petitioner who had earlier urged the Indian government to use the patent act's levers to curtail the escalating cost of the life-saving treatment.