MNCs Continue Patent Filings In India Despite Strong Local Challenges
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Multinational pharmaceutical companies continue to file for Indian drug patents despite strong challenges waged by local drug makers. Many of the new filings are for drugs in the same class as Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) a Novartis drug the subject of a long-lasting court fight. AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer have filed applications for six drugs considered a new generation of medicines in the same class as Gleevec for treating chronic myeloid leukemia. For instance, Novartis has filed for a patent for Tasigna (nilotinib monohydrate) to treat patients resistant or tolerant to Gleevec. (Click here for more