Novartis may stop further investments in India

The battle between Novartis and the government over India's patent laws has taken its first victim! Novartis may stop further investments in the country.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis may stop its further investments in India till the time the Indian Patent Laws are framed in compliance with the International Patent Laws. Soruces say the decision is triggered by the fact that Novartis has not been granted product patent or sole manufacturing and marketing rights in India for its life saving anti-cancer drug Glivec.

Novartis has challenged the validity of the Indian Patent Law arguing that it should grant product patent to incremental innovations or new discoveries made over existing patent filings. Novartis claims that scientific research on a compound is progressive and so every stage of research is patentable.

Separately, Novartis is also fighting a patent case at the Intellectual Property Appelate Board in Chennai against a bunch of NGOs. The NGOs have questioned the patentability of Novartis' anti-cancer drug Glivec.

When contacted over its investment plans in India due to the patent fights, Novartis says, "Lack of respect for International Intellectual Property Laws will serve as a limiting factor on India's desire to expand its research-based pharmaceutical industry. Novartis prioritizes investments in R&D in countries which respect intellectual property. Concerning our plans in Hyderabad, Novartis reviewed options to acquire land there, but no final agreement has been signed."

Novartis had earlier plans to set up large-scale commercial facilities in Hyderabad. The Glivec case is not just about Novartis getting a product patent for its drug, it will also set a precedent for the approval of other drugs, which may be based on modifications of original patent filings. And that's why even Indian companies may get impacted on the final outcome of the Glivec case.