How to slash a drug price by 97 per cent

Rulings that bar patent extensions on flimsy grounds by drug giants are opening the gates to dramatically cheaper generic medicines

- By LATHA JISHNU

THE JUDGEMENTS have come in fairly quick succession and they have directly or indirectly put patients first by prioritising the need for more affordable medicines. Not just the courts but the Patent Office has reminded drug multinationals that the laws here do not allow the evergreening—this is a term for unduly extending the patent period by tweaking the original invention—to continue raking in monopoly profits. Recent decisions by the Delhi High Court—with a nod of approval from the Supreme Court—combined with a decision by the Indian Patent Office to revoke a patent have, after a long hiatus, put the spotlight back on the special provisions in India's Patent Act that balance patent rights with public good.

The most critical of these provisions is Section 3d, which clearly lays down what is patentable or not, and specifically bars new patents on old molecules unless these demonstrate improved efficacy. This is a unique safeguard incorporated in the amended law 20 years ago to comply with the rules of World Trade Organization (WTO) on intellectual property protection. This section has been under assault since the very inception, challenged in courts, and at the Patent Office and internationally by developed countries during trade negotiations.