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Indian Ruling against Pharmaceutical Giant a Victory for Global Public Health LWF Leaders Hail Verdict on Novartis Case
GENEVA, 10 August 2007 (LWI) * LWF leaders have welcomed statements of aid and advocacy agencies hailing the verdict by an Indian court against the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, on Monday 6 August, as an important victory for global public health.
âThe decision will protect Indiaâs special role as the worldâs leading provider of affordable medicines to the poor,â says the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), a Geneva-based coalition of faith-based groups advocating for increased access to effective prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS, in an August 6 joint statement with CARE International and Oxfam International. The agencies also welcomed an initial statement by Novartis on Monday that it is unlikely to appeal against the ruling.
A global campaign by civil society has seen nearly half a million people around the world calling for Novartis to drop its case. The EAA mobilized church leaders to join the campaign.
Ms Linda Hartke, coordinator of the EAA, of which the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is a member said, âThis is a victory for all those who believe people, not profits, must come first in public health.â
LWF President Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in welcoming the High Courtâs decision, said, âEven more important than this decision on a particular case is the principle it sets*patents must be granted in a way that balances public health and real innovation.â
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko commented: âThe bottom line for us is access to essential medicines for all*especially those living in poverty who are more vulnerable to disease and ill health. This ruling is one step towards affirming existing limitations on patent protection that will help keep many medicines affordable. But we need to go farther in developing alternatives to the current system for essential medicines.â
According to an EAA press release: âNovartis had filed a petition with the high court challenging the constitutionality of Indian patent law after the Indian Patent Controllerâs Office had refused to grant a patent for its cancer medicine, Glivec. The Glivec application was rejected on the grounds that the medicine was simply a new form of an old medicine with a trivial change, something which cannot be patented under Indian law." In rejecting the Novartis challenge, the press release continues, the court had noted it had no jurisdiction to rule on the compliance of Indian law to the World Trade Organizationâs (WTO) intellectual property rules.
In their statement, the agencies said Novartis and the pharmaceutical industry had been given a clear message to respect developing countriesâ legal right to use the WTO TRIPS (trade-related intellectual property) safeguards to strike the right balance between protecting public health and intellectual property.
âThe decision,â the EAA press release says, âpotent ially could have affected the generic manufacture of thousands of other medicines in India.â Known as the âpharmacy of the developing world,â India supplies most of the worldâs affordable generics to developing countries where patented medicines are priced out of most peopleâs reach. More than two-thirds of generic medicines exported from India are sold in developing countries at a fraction of the cost of patented brand medicines, explains the agenciesâ statement. âNovartisâ €™ legal challenge posed an enormous threat in developing countries to millions of people suffering from cancer, HIV and AIDS, diabetes and other diseases who are too poor to pay for expensive patented medicines.â
In their statement, CARE International, Oxfam International, and the EAA called on Nova rtis to continue to take positive steps to promote access to medicines in developing countries, to promote research and development for neglected diseases and to strike an appropriate balance between protecting public health safeguards in developing countries and intellectual property rights. An appeal to the patent decision is still pending before Indiaâs Intellectual Property Appellate Board. (649 words)
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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of nearly 66.7 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)
[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]
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