Drugs for Indian Poor Spark Pfizer Anger at Lost Patents
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In trying to get sophisticated medicines to its neediest citizens, India is increasingly pitting its generic-pharmaceutical industry against international drugmakers, threatening their growth in emerging markets.
An Indian regulatory board this month upheld a ruling that allows Natco Pharma Ltd. to make a low-priced copy of Bayer AG’s Nexavar cancer treatment. The drug is one of at least four that have had their patents weakened, revoked or rejected in India in the past year. The country also has refused a patent for Novartis AG’s Gleevec leukemia medicine, and the Supreme Court will rule April 1 on the company’s appeal of the decision.