Summary Bayer sells a one month supply of the drug for about $5,600.
NEW DELHI (AP) - India s patent appeals office has rejected international drug maker Bayer AG s plea to stop an Indian company from manufacturing a cheaper generic version of a patented cancer drug.
The ruling Monday by India s Intellectual Property Appellate Board is being hailed as an important precedent for getting inexpensive lifesaving drugs to the poor.
Last year, India s patent office allowed local drug manufacturer Natco Pharma Ltd. to produce a generic version of Bayer s kidney and liver cancer treatment Nexavar on the grounds that this would make the drug available to the public at a reasonably affordable price.
The German company filed an appeal against the Indian patents office s decision to grant a compulsory license to Natco Pharma under which the Indian company would pay royalty on net sales to Bayer.
Bayer sells a one month supply of the drug for about $5,600. Natco s version would cost Indian patients $175 a month. The patent appeals office ruled that under the license Natco must pay 7 percent in royalties to Bayer.
There was no immediate reaction to the decision from Bayer.
It was the first case of compulsory licensing under India s new patent laws passed in 2005.
Western pharmaceutical companies have been pushing for stronger patent protections in India to regulate the country s $26 billion generics industry they say frequently flouts intellectual property rights.
However, health activists and aid groups counter that Indian generics are a lifesaving resource for patients in poor countries who cannot afford Western prices to treat diseases such as cancer, malaria and HIV.
