Health Action International (HAI) Europe, in collaboration with Berne Declaration,
HAI Africa, HAI Asia Pacific, Third World Network and Knowledge Ecology
International, have urged the pharmaceutical company
Novartis to put an end to its five year legal actions in India regarding the
patenting of the anticancer drug Glivec. The NGOs also called on the Swiss
company to refrain from attempting to influence the Indian government over laws
and policies that would hinder access to medicine.
In a joint Open Letter sent last Tuesday to Novartis` President, Dr. Vasella,
the signatories voiced their concern regarding Novartis` persistent legal
actions in regards to the patent application for Glivec (Gleevec in the USA), a
vital medicine in treating relatively rare forms of leukaemia and
gastro-intestinal tumors.
Despite three consecutive patent refusals pronounced by the Indian justice
authorities since 2006, the pharmaceutical giant, through an appeal to the
Supreme Court in August 2009, is insitant in its attempt
to challenge the Indian Patent Law. The Open Letter strongly urges Novartis to drop
this pending case. Domestic NGOs have organized simultaneous protest events
throughout India, and will remain mobilized until the next hearing of the
Glivec case at the Supreme Court scheduled for 19 April this year.
The Open Letter also urges Novartis to abstain from lobbying the Indian government
for more stringent intellectual property regulation. This would have major
negative impact on access to medicines for disadvantaged patients and would undermine
competition with generic equivalent medicines. These particular issues are
currently being
negotiated in the framework of bilateral free-trade agreements between India
and the European Union, and the European Free Trade Association.
The Open Letter follows a public call made by Patrick Durisch, health programme
Coordinator of Bern Declaration, a HAI Europe member organisation, during the
Annual General Meeting of Novartis` shareholders last Tuesday. Durisch underlined
the negative consequences of this judicial saga:
"The stakes go far beyond the granting of the patent for this anticancer
drug. This action aims at weakening a public health safeguard clause - section
3(d) of the Indian Patents Act - which limits the multiplication of abusive or
useless patents on an already-known substance", said Mr Durisch.
"Without this disposition, access to
affordable medicines would be threatened in most developing countries, since
India is one of the primary suppliers of generic medicines worldwide, in
particular in the field of HIV/AIDS."
Keywords: HAI / Pharmaceutical Company / HIV/AIDS /
Patents Act
