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Article

21 Aug 2012

Author:
Helen Pidd, Guardian [UK]

Indian court to hear crucial Novartis patent case on cut-price generic drugs

India's highest court is due to hear a case that could decide whether cut-price generic drugs for cancer and other serious conditions will continue to be available in much of the developing world. The long-running case, which resumes in Delhi on Wednesday, has been brought by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis...Novartis says the legal move is "about protecting intellectual property to advance the practice of medicine, not about changing access to medicines", according to Ranjit Shahani, the vice-chairman and managing director of Novartis India. But campaigners argue that a victory for Novartis could result in the deaths of thousands of people who will no longer be able to afford the drugs they need.