UACT and others act to stop Xtandi patent in India

The Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT), along with 56 other organizations, has requested the Regents of the University of California (UCLA) to withdraw its efforts before the Delhi High Court to obtain a patent on prostate cancer drug Xtandi (enzalutamide) in India, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

Global sales of Xtandi were $1.87 billion in 2015, with projected annual global sales of $4.78 billion by 2020.

The AUCT has said in a note that the grant of a patent on enzalutamide in India would prevent generic competitors from supplying the drug at an affordable price, both in India and in other countries, where there is no patent, "or where Astellas has abused its patent rights by charging prices that are excessive and create access barriers for this important drug." Japanese drug major Astellas Pharma (TYO: 4503) sells enzalutamide at a price in India "that is unaffordable to most cancer patients."