The Novartis Verdict


Especially since the Apple v/s Samsung patent wars, patents have a bad name. What started off as a way to encourage innovation and protect the rights of inventors deteriorated into a ridiculous system that granted patents for insane and obvious things. Like those (in)famous rounded rectangles of Apple…

But one area where I was supportive of patents was the pharma industry. After all, R&D costs a lot of money. There is no guarantee of success; and surely companies deserve a proportional reward for such risks that they took. And all the clinical trials and regulatory clearances before they can market medicines cost time and money. Hence to me, pharma was one industry where patents still made sense.

But the recent Indian Supreme Court ruling shooting down the patent on Novartis's drug Glivec was a good example of how even pharma companies abuse the system: and no, I am not talking in some “how can you put a cost on human life” kind of way. Take a look at what Novartis was actually doing here:
“Evergreening”: This refers to the practice whereby when a patent on a medicine is due to expire, the company makes a small change to the medicine, gets a patent on the modified one, and in effect resets the clock on the patent expiry date!

And here’s another fact behind the history of Glivec that should knock any sympathy for Novartise out of the park:
The drug was developed via (US) government funded projects (though private companies did play a minor role in productizing the drug later); so why should any private company be reaping the benefits anyway? And further, extending its benefits via the highly questionable practice of evergreening?

So kudos to the Indian Supreme Court for this ruling.

Comments

  1. Ramiah KumarApril 6, 2013 at 5:56 PM

    Thanks for the short and clear explanation about this patent controversy.It gives a good perspective of the matter. Sometimes the media uses terms as if everybody knows them! Evergreening is one example. And often the TV discussions which my generation falls back on for learning about issues is insufferably long and almost swamped by cross-talking!

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