Incremental innovation on patented drugs unacceptable: CSIR DG

NEW DELHI: CSIR Director General Samir Brahmachari today welcomed the Supreme Court judgement rejecting Novartis' patent plea on cancer drug Glivec saying incremental innovation on such patented medicines was "unacceptable" and there has to be a limit to profit.

"Incremental innovation on patented drugs for extending patent life is not acceptable," Brahmachari said.

"There has to be a limit to profit from a drug," he said. Brahamachari is Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR).

Brahmachari, a noted biophysicist, said Glivec was "an excellent discovery, but that was 20 years back" and the tinkering with the drug molecule merely to extend the patent life was improper.

He said the anti-cancer drug was a breakthrough innovation which had shown remarkable results in the first phase of clinical trials.

Novartis first patented a version of Glivec in 1993 but then abandoned that it for a newer version.

Under patent laws, a company can claim exclusivity over a drug for 20 years to protect its investment on research after which it becomes an inexpensive generic.

The apex court judgement can pave the way for cancer patients getting cheaper drugs as a one-month dose of Glivec costs around Rs 1.2 lakh, while generic drugs, manufactured by Indian companies, for the same period, are priced at Rs 8,000.