Novartis AG India Patent Case Postponed to August 22

The final judgment from the eagerly-anticipated court case that involves Novartis' legal challenge against India's patent laws has been put back once again. The Swiss major's long-running case against the Government of India centres around the country's patent law, notably Section 3(d), which states that a modification of a known chemical composition is non-patentable. Novartis' legal action stems from an attempt to obtain an Indian patent on Gleevec/Glivec (imatinib mesylate), its drug for chronic myeloid leukaemia and other cancers, which was denied by India's Patent Office in 2006.