Jan Swasthya Abhiyan
(Peoples Health Movement – India)
Health for All - Now! Health is a Basic Human Right!
Press Release
For Favour of Publication
The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA http://phm-india.org/), comprising 18 national networks and hundreds of state level/local organisations engaged in promoting issues related to public health in India, announces a call to doctors to boycott all products manufactured by the Swiss MNC, Novartis, till Novartis withdraws it’s case before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board for seeking a patent on Gleevec and abandon all it’s attempts and plans to misuse the Indian decision making and redressal systems for it’s narrow ends.
The JSA has decided to issue the boycott call after prolonged deliberation, given the intransigent attitude shown by Novartis in obstructing access to a vital medicine for blood cancer. Novartis had first pressed for removal of a key public health safeguard in the Indian Patent Act and now continues to persist in pressing for a patent for its anti leukemia drug, Gleevec (beta crystalline form of Imatinib Mesylate), after its application was rejected by the Indian Patent office.
Imatinib mesylate is extremely useful in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) a type of blood cancer. In addition to Novartis, several Indian companies – viz. NATCO, Cipla, Ranbaxy and Hetero -- also produce and market this drug. Treatment with Gleevec (manufactured and marketed by Novartis) costs rupees 1,20,000 per month, whereas Indian companies market the same drug at a price of about Rs. 8,000 per month. If a patent were to be granted to Novartis for the beta crystalline form of imatinib mesylate, some Indian companies may have to stop production of this medicine, and this may drastically curtail the options for the patients to avail the far cheaper version of this life saving medicine. At a treatment cost of Rs.1,20,000 per month, this would mean that over 99% of patients requiring this drug would be denied access to it. The huge difference in the price of the same drug is an illustration of how a patent monopoly can be used by drug companies to generate super-profits while endangering the lives of thousands, or even millions.
Novartis has challenged the order of the Indian Patent office, rejecting its application for a patent on the beta crystalline form of imatinib mesylate. This case will be heard by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board. The Indian Patent office had rejected the application for a patent on sound principles, entirely consistent with the country’s laws and the agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
Novartis had filed a second case challenging the constitutional validity of Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act. Section 3(d) was specifically introduced by the Indian parliament as a safeguard against the misuse of product patents on medicines. It is a matter of grave concern that a foreign company chose to challenge the constitutionality of a law that has been passed by the Indian Parliament to safeguard public health. The consequences of a change in the safeguards in the Indian Patent Act would not be limited just to India. Today India is known globally as the “Pharmacy of the Third World”, because Indian companies export cheaper versions of patented drugs to over 150 countries. For example, over half the medicines currently used for AIDS treatment in developing countries come from India. Many reputed personalities publicly appealed to Novartis to
withdraw the court case. They include Erik Solheim, Minister of International Development, Norway and Henry Waxman, Chairman, Congress of United States. The Chennai High Court’s decision on 6th August, 2007 to dismiss Novartis’s plea has vindicated our stand. The Chennai Court said that it does not have jurisdiction to decide whether the Indian Patent law is TRIPS compliant or not; the appropriate forum, being the WTO Disputes Settlement Body.
Instead of giving up, however, Novartis has decided to pursue its case challenging the denial of a patent on Imatinib to be heard by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board! It has also appealed to the Chennai High Court again, this time asking for removal of Sri.Chandrashekharan from the Appellate Board as the company claims he is a biased party because he was involved in rejecting its patent claim on Gleevec earlier! Novartis has also held out a veiled threat in its response to the dismissal of its petition by the Chennai High Court. Chief Executive, Daniel Vasella, has been quoted by the Financial Times as saying: "This [ruling] is not an invitation to invest in Indian research and development, which we would have done. We will invest more in countries where we have protection. It's not a punishment. It's just a question of the culture for investment."
This is the background of JSA’ boycott appeal. We once again appeal to Novartis to desist in persisting to challenge the Indian legal system and in attempting to jeopardise the lives of millions. We appeal to the Medical community in India to unite in a show of opposition to the methods used by Novartis that compromise access to vital medicines, by signing the boycott letter issued by JSA or by signing the online petition at http://novartisboycott.org/. The two selling products marketed by Novartis in India are Voveran (a pain killer and anti-inflammatory drug) and Calcium Sandoz (a calcium supplement). We are sure that patients would not suffer because of this boycott, because good substitutes are available in India for all Novartis products. When and if a substitute is not available in a city/village for a Novartis product, we would urge doctors to boycott other Novartis products.
(Dr.B.Ekbal)
Convenor, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan
Addresses for Correspondence:
National Secretariat c/o SATHI CEHAT, 3&4, Aman Terrace, Plot No. 140, Dahanukar Colony, Kothrud, Pune 411029
Ph: (020) 5451413 / 5452325 Email: cehatpun@vsnl.con
National Secretariat, Delhi: D-158, Lower Ground Floor, Saket, New Delhi -110017.
Ph: (011) 26524324 , 26862716 (Telfax). Email: ctddsf@vsnl.co
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