Probe Ordered Into India Patent For Roche’s Valcyte (India)
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
India's controller general ordered an investigation of a decision by the patent office in Chennai to grant F. Hoffman-LaRoche a patent for its Valcyte (valganciclovir hydrochloride) for HIV/AIDS infection developed during organ transplants. The patent office granted the patent to the Swiss drug maker without hearing opposition by a patient group, as required by law. A Mumbai lawyers group filed a pre-grant opposition last year, but the Chennai office granted the patent to Roche in September without a hearing on the group's filing. The group challenged the patent on grounds Roche relied on a pre-1995 molecule, and thus could not have received a patent under Indian law that says only post-2005 drugs are eligible for patent protection. (Click here for more