# 1997: Novartis files a patent application in India for its cancer drug Glivec or Gleevec.
# 2005: India introduces the Indian Patent Act preventing frivolous patents.
# Jan 2006: The Patent Controller in Chennai denies Novartis a patent.
# May 2006: Novartis challenges the Indian government and four other companies in the Madras High Court
# Aug 2007: The Madras High Court rules against Novartis’ case
# June 2009: The Intellectual Property Appellate Board rejects a fresh appeal
# August 2009: Novartis approaches the Supreme Court of India
# April 1, 2013: Supreme Court rejects Novartis’ plea for patent.
Results of the landmark ruling of Supreme court will be:
# The judgment allows suppliers to continue making generic copies of Swiss firm Novartis’ Glivec or Gleevec, which has been shown to fight chronic blood cancer effectively.
# While the Novartis drug costs more than Rs 1 lakh per month, with doctors often advising patients to take it lifelong, the generic equivalents cost less than one-tenth.
# Observers say that the Court’s judgment sets a precedent against the practice of “evergreening” — a strategy through which drug manufacturers introduce modifications of drugs to extend the five-year patents on them.
# The judgment allows suppliers to continue making generic copies of Swiss firm Novartis’ Glivec or Gleevec, which has been shown to fight chronic blood cancer effectively.
# While the Novartis drug costs more than Rs 1 lakh per month, with doctors often advising patients to take it lifelong, the generic equivalents cost less than one-tenth.
# Observers say that the Court’s judgment sets a precedent against the practice of “evergreening” — a strategy through which drug manufacturers introduce modifications of drugs to extend the five-year patents on them.
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