How To Charge $1.6 Million For a New Drug And Get Away With It
As appeared on Forbes.com
March 19, 2012
Last week an Indian patent court ordered Bayer, via rare compulsory license, to allow a small Indian generic drug company to sell a cheaper version of the patented cancer drug Nexavar. The court reasoned that Bayer had an obligation to make the product available to Indian consumers who needed it.
According to Kaye Scholer Counsel Sapna Palla, who counsels and represents pharmaceutical and other life sciences clients on patent litigation matters, the ruling raises difficulty as it may discourage drug companies from pioneering and researching solutions that could potentially save millions of lives each year.
“The Indian decision is arbitrary,” Palla said. “Moreover, if the decision adds to doubts about the Indian patent system, it could stymie foreign investment and undermine the innovative pharmaceutical industry in India in the long run.”