India Takes Another Swipe at Big Pharmas Such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Roche; Govt. to Make 3 Key CA Drugs Cheaper

In a move that will benefit thousands of cancer patients but is likely to upset pharma MNCs, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has started the process of issuing compulsory licences for three commonly used anti-cancer drugs, Trastuzumab (or Herceptin, used for breast cancer), Ixabepilone (used for chemotherapy) and Dasatinib (used to treat leukaemia). Compulsory licensing (CL) by the government allows a domestic company to manufacture and sell a generic version of a patented drug with or without the consent of the patent-holder. Sections 84 and 92 of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, provide for CL in cases where the patented drug is unavailable, unaffordable, or if there are problems with its supply in India. CL reduces the price of a drug manifold, and is a practice in many developing countries. The first drug to be issued a compulsory licence in India was Bayer’s Nexavar (sorafenib tosylate), a drug for liver cancer, last August. After the CL, Nexavar is available for Rs 8,880 per pack of 120 tablets (a month’s dose), over 95% cheaper than its pre-CL price.

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