Drug affordability test

Feisty is what Natco Pharma is. The medium-sized company (turnover: Rs 350 crore) is seldom out of the news for what appears to be a chronic tendency to fight patents on expensive life-saving drugs. Since 2003 when it hit the headlines for challenging Swiss drug giant Novartis’s patent for the life-saving Glivec cancer medication, the Hyderabad-based company has tried several ploys to break patents on blockbuster drugs and produce its generic versions.

WHO OWNS OUR VEGGIES?

A so-called super broccoli, which has been developed by a British company with two to three times the level of glucoraphanin than the normal broccoli, has been given a European patent. And so has a tomato with reduced fruit water content. Both were developed using conventional cross-breeding methods and no genetic engineering was involved. Thereby, hangs a worrying issue.

No climate for cleantech

What is the outlook for developing countries in getting clean energy technologies transferred to them at a reasonable fee? Will intellectual property rights (IPR) over green technology to mitigate the impact of climate change prove to be a tough barrier? Can poor nations hope to compete with the developed world in bringing such technology to the market? A clear idea of the challenges that lie ahead was available in a speech made by a top American official at a recent conference on clean energy policy in the US, points that have a major bearing on the green future of the developing world. Reproduced below are some of the key points enunciated by Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank.

Politics of the Internet

Five years ago, the World Summit on the Information Society (wsis) established the Internet Governance Forum (igf) with somewhat ambitious goals. It would serve as a global platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue on “key elements of Internet governance in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development of the Internet”.

NCD battle starts now

Historic it may be—even if watered down. The unanimous adoption of a “political declaration” by the UN on the need to fight the rising tide of non-communicable diseases (NCD) is a singular development and, as analysts have been reminding us, it is only the second time a health issue has been debated at a special meeting of the General Assembly. The first was when it pledged to take on AIDS a decade ago.

The fine line for judges

Last week just as Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis was set to begin its final arguments in the Supreme Court against the rejection of a patent for its cancer drug Glivec (see ‘Evergreen Novartis’, Down To Earth, September 1-15) there were two swift and stunning developments. A letter was written by five activists complaining to the ministers of law, commerce, health and family welfare about Justice Dalveer Bhandari, one of two judges hearing the case.

Evergreen Novartis

For sheer persistence you have to hand it to Novartis. Ever since its blood cancer drug Glivec was refused a patent in 2006, the Swiss multinational has been fighting India’s patent law, or at least a crucial section of it, with the patent authorities and in the courts. With case now in the Supreme Court, there is a high sense of expectancy— and unease.

‘PESTICIDES’ IN DRUGS

Why is the pharmaceutical industry taking such a keen interest in the Pesticides Management Bill, 2008, or PMB, which would appear to be as far removed from drugs as chalk from cheese? The Bill, pending in Parliament since 2008, is all set to be debated in the current session with agriculture minister Sharad Pawar having indicated an urgency to get it passed. The proposed regulation is intended to improve the quality of pesticides available to Indian farmers and introduce new, safe and efficacious pesticides.

FARM IP, ENTER WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization has announced clearly that it intends to play a role—and considering the clout WIPO enjoys it implies a significant part—in promoting intellectual property (IP) in agriculture to enhance productivity. The UN body stepped into this touchy arena with a seminar at its Geneva headquarters that has gone almost unnoticed. The June 14 seminar had just a handful of participants—India was one of them—for the day-long deliberations on ‘How the Private and the Public Sectors Use IP to Enhance Agricultural Productivity’ but its rationale for pushing IP is fraught with problems.

Blood on the Internet

It’s a bit of Iraq and Afghanistan out there on the Internet. Just like the invasion of Iraq was lies, deceit and regime change as George W Bush chased illusory weapons of mass destruction in that hapless country, on the Internet, too, there is an element of fabrication and duplicity as the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unit of the Department of Homeland Security goes about seizing domain names and shutting them down en masse claiming they are all violating intellectual property rights (IPRS).