Paul Herrling, Chair of the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Basel, Switzerland, believes that the recent rejection and revocation of patents in India is “short-sighted” and will deter investment and innovation in the country. “India has become a challenging market for innovator companies to do business in. The country needs to put an ecosystem in place that encourages innovation if it hopes to attract research and development investment by both the global and local pharmaceutical industry,” he says.
But although the recent flurry of activity has knocked down patents that protect high-profile drugs, such activity may not be as common as often perceived. “No doubt, India's intellectual property tribunal has liquidated more patents than its counterparts in other parts of the world, but a dispassionate look at the overall patent numbers will indicate that the situation is not as grim as is made out to be,” says Shamnad Basheer, a professor in intellectual property law at the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, India. He notes that only a minor percentage — less than 2% — of the total number of pharmaceutical patent applications have been challenged. With increasing partnerships between global drug-makers and Indian generics companies, this percentage could dip even further in the coming years, he notes.
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