Nearly a quarter of a million people from over 150 countries have signed a petition calling on the pharmaceutical company Novartis to drop its case against the Indian government. The case resumed hearing on January 29, 2007, in a Chennai court.

In January 2006, India's patent office rejected a patent application on Gleevec, Novartis' anti-cancer drug, on grounds that the drug was a new form of an old drug (see earlier report ‘Global campaign against Novartis petition' ).

Novartis is challenging a provision in the Indian Patents Act that restricts patenting of medicines to innovations only. If the provision were overturned, patents would be granted far more widely in India, heavily restricting the production of affordable medicines that have become crucial in the treatment of diseases across the developing world.

Many developing countries rely on affordable medicines produced in India, and such medicines constitute over half the AIDS drugs used in the developing world. India has been able to produce affordable versions of medicines patented elsewhere because, until 2005, the country did not grant pharmaceutical patents.

Organisations concerned with public health are worried about the impact Novartis' action will have on access to medicines in developing countries.

The Indian Network for People with HIV/AIDS (INP+), the People's Health Movement, the Centre for Trade and Development (Centad), together with the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have called on Novartis to cease its legal action in India. In December 2006, MSF launched a global campaign to oppose Novartis' action.

“Here in India, the People's Health Movement fought hard to make sure our government implemented a law that put people's health before patents and profits,” says Dr Amit Sengupta. “But now, Novartis is trying to force a change in our patent law, which could deprive people suffering from life-threatening diseases and conditions.”

“The Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement already makes it difficult for India to produce the affordable drugs that people need,” says Centad's K M Gopakumar. “By challenging the pro-public health safeguards in the Indian law, Novartis is going even further and is trying to undo the Doha Declaration, restricting access to medicines.”

January 30 , 2007