The Economic Times 2 August 2, 2007

Triggering a fresh legal wrangle, Swiss drug major Novartis on Wednesday filed a writ petition with the Madras High Court contesting the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB)s decision to let former Patent Controller General S Chandrasekaran hear its appeal for Glivec.

Novartis had filed a petition with the IPAB last month insisting that the newly appointed technical member to the board had refused its patent for anti-cancer drug Glivec in the first place, and should therefore not hear its appeal. However, the IPAB dismissed Novartis objection.

The Madras Patent Office rejected Novartis patent application for Glivec in January 2006, arguing that the Basel-based drug makers innovation was obvious and did not meet the requirements of section 3(d) a legal clause specific to the Indian patent law, which stipulates that modifications of already-known medicines cannot be patented unless they make the drug significantly more effective.

While Glivec is a new medicine, patented in over 40 countries around the world, Novartis is seeking patent protection in India for a crystalline form of the drug, as the original molecule was invented prior to 1995, and is therefore not eligible for a patent in India.

Novartis has last year filed a petition with the Madras High Court challenging the constitutionality of Section 3(d).

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