Showdown: Novartis AG Vs. India for Cancer Pill Patent -- the Case That Could Change Cheap Medicine

India's highest court will hear final arguments starting this week in a landmark case over drug patents that could change the rules for the country's healthcare sector and potentially curb its global role as a supplier of cut-price generic medicines. The Supreme Court hearing pits Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG against India's patent office, which has refused to grant a patent on the company's cancer drug Glivec on the grounds that it is not a new medicine but an amended version of a known compound.