Raising drug efficacy is an inventive step, Novartis tells SC

NEW DELHI: Novartis on Tuesday claimed in the Supreme Court that any incremental change in drug efficacy would tantamount to being an inventive step under the Indian Patents Act, 1970, and would hence be entitled to a patent in this country.

The Swiss pharmaceutical major is challenging the decision of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board's decision to deny its leukemia drug Glivec a patent on the ground that the company could not prove the therapeutic efficacy of the drug.

The government and a host of local pharma companies, such as Ranbaxy, Natco and Cipla, which produce cheaper generic versions of the drug, are contesting the legal proceedings in the country's top court.

They claim that grant of any such patent would adversely impact public health as it would deny the needy cheaper versions of the drug which is also used in several other developing countries.