Indian Patent Law Challenged by Swiss Pharmaceutical Company

Novartis, a Swiss drug manufacturing company, faced defeat in the Madras high court of India in an attempt to amend Indian Patent law. Novartis sought protection against the manufacture of generic goods and incremental changes to existing drugs. Indian patent law limits patent protection in the pharmaceutical field to only entirely new compounds and does not extend to minor changes in existing drugs. The drug company argued that Indian patent law violates the standards agreed upon by the World Trade Organization (WTO), known as Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), but the court held that the current Indian law does not violate the Indian Constitution and that any judgement on TRIPS needs to be made by the WTO.

The TRIPS agreement allows for flexibility in the drug patent laws to promote affordable access to medications in developing nations. The agreement offers special consideration to developing nations with health emergencies, such as AIDS/HIV and malaria. But, pharmaceutical companies argue that this flexibility results in reduced revenue and less money available for investment in research and development. Many agencies, like those that provide low-cost healthcare and domestic Indian drug makers, are applauding the decision by the Indian court. They argue that if patents were granted to cover minor changes in existing drugs, then the ruling may affect hundreds of HIV infected people in developing nations who rely on generic drugs produced in India. This outcome is sure to have a global impact as the case affects not only people in India, but also people in Africa, Brazil, Thailand, multi-national agencies, and other non-governmental agencies who rely on India’s less costly drugs.