Posts Tagged: "Gleevec"

Novartis acquires French radiopharmaceutical firm for oncology drug after losing patent protection for Gleevec

Novartis has agreed to acquire French radiopharmaceutical firm Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) in a deal which values AAA at $3.9 billion USD. The deal, funded through short- and long-term debt, adds the radioligand therapy (RDL) known as Lutathera to the Novartis pipeline. This drug, approved for use in the European Union and currently undergoing trials for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is used in the treatment of patients suffering from neuroendocrine tumors.

Global IP Reaction to India’s Rejection of the Novartis Drug Patent

India’s booming $26 billion generic drug industry and public health sector rejoiced over the Indian Supreme Court’s recent decision to reject a patent filed by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Novartis for their landmark leukemia drug, Gleevec. Novartis received a patent for an earlier variation of Gleevec in 40 countries including Russia, China, and Taiwan. However, India’s troubled IP regime applies an ambiguous standard to patentability, the so-called “enhanced efficacy” for new forms of known substances. India only applies their “efficacy” requirement to the chemical and pharmaceutical drug industry as a protectionist measure. India codified the efficacy requirement in section 3(d) of their patent code and this may contravene with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) as set forth by the World Trade Organization (WTO).