Full text: SC judgement rejecting Novartis patent plea for Glivec

In a landmark judgement, India's Supreme Court today rejected a patent plea by Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG for cancer drug Glivec, boosting the case for cheaper drugs for life-threatening diseases.

The decision in the seven-year legal battle was keenly awaited by the two most interested parties- big pharma companies and health aid groups - with both sides saying the outcome will set a precedent with far-reaching consequences for the future availability of the drugs.

Anand Grover, the lawyer representing Indian companies said that the Supreme Court had ruled that Glivec was not new, not innovative and did not satisfy the criteria under section 3(d) which states that inventions that are a mere "discovery" of a "new form" of a "known substance" do not result in increased efficacy of that substance are not patentable."

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This is the full text of the judgement:

Novartis patent Judgement