NEW DELHI: The government's move to strip German drugmaker Bayer of its exclusive rights to a cancer drug Nexavar comes as a huge relief to cancer patients in India. Now, this drug will soon be available to patients at Rs 8,880 for a pack of 120 tablets.
Nexavar is a drug used to treat liver and kidney cancer at the advanced stage. The drug stops the growth of new blood vessels and targets other important cellular growth factors.
Bayer's Nexavar cancer drug costs around Rs 2.84 lakh in India, making it "not available to the public at a reasonably affordable price", the patent office ruled.
On Monday, the Indian Patent Office effectively ended Bayer's monopoly for its Nexavar drug and issued its first-ever compulsory license allowing local generic maker Natco Pharma to make and sell the drug cheaply in India.
India is only the second time a nation has issued a compulsory license for a cancer drug after Thailand did so on four drugs between 2006 and 2008, also on affordability grounds. Thailand also issued licenses for HIV/AIDS and heart disease treatments.
India has one of the world's fastest-growing rates of HIV and heart disease is also the country's biggest killer, but widespread poverty in Asia's third-largest economy makes many non-generic drugs unaffordable for millions.
In cancer treatments, India's Cipla Ltd, which has the second largest share of the local drugs market, may also benefit from the Bayer case. Cipla is fighting a Bayer suit for patent infringement after the Indian drugmaker launched a generic version of Nexavar in India in April 2010.
A provision of the Indian Patents Act allows for a compulsory license to be awarded after three years of the grant of patent on drugs that are deemed to be too costly.
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Nexavar is a drug used to treat liver and kidney cancer at the advanced stage. The drug stops the growth of new blood vessels and targets other important cellular growth factors.
Bayer's Nexavar cancer drug costs around Rs 2.84 lakh in India, making it "not available to the public at a reasonably affordable price", the patent office ruled.
On Monday, the Indian Patent Office effectively ended Bayer's monopoly for its Nexavar drug and issued its first-ever compulsory license allowing local generic maker Natco Pharma to make and sell the drug cheaply in India.
India is only the second time a nation has issued a compulsory license for a cancer drug after Thailand did so on four drugs between 2006 and 2008, also on affordability grounds. Thailand also issued licenses for HIV/AIDS and heart disease treatments.
India has one of the world's fastest-growing rates of HIV and heart disease is also the country's biggest killer, but widespread poverty in Asia's third-largest economy makes many non-generic drugs unaffordable for millions.
In cancer treatments, India's Cipla Ltd, which has the second largest share of the local drugs market, may also benefit from the Bayer case. Cipla is fighting a Bayer suit for patent infringement after the Indian drugmaker launched a generic version of Nexavar in India in April 2010.
A provision of the Indian Patents Act allows for a compulsory license to be awarded after three years of the grant of patent on drugs that are deemed to be too costly.
Thank You Yahoo
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