Healthy Skepticism Library item: 14065

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Publication type: Journal Article

Ecks S.
Global Pharmaceutical Markets and Corporate Citizenship: The Case of Novartis' anti-cancer drug Glivec
Biosocieties 2008; (3):165-181
http://www.health.ed.ac.uk/CIPHP/ourresearch/documents/Glivec_Ecks_2008_for_TPSA_website.pdf

Abstract:

This paper analyses a remarkable transformation of global capitalism in
recent years: that corporations claim to be ‘good citizens’ and are
driven by higher aspirations than profits alone. It focuses on the
lawsuit brought by the drug company Novartis against the Indian
government over the patent for the anti-cancer drug Glivec. Novartis’
attack on Indian patent law caused an international outcry. Opponents of
Novartis argued that the company was trying to destroy essential
provisions in the Indian law that keep drugs affordable even after the
country signed up to the World Trade Organization’s agreement on
Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). With reference to
‘the constitutional obligation of providing good health care to its
citizens’, the High Court in Chennai, India, dismissed Novartis’
challenge in August 2007. While health activists celebrated the court’s
decision as a victory for anti-corporate citizens, this article argues
that Novartis won a more important battle elsewhere: to protect its
profits in European and North American markets. The article shows how
claims to ‘citizenship’ were mobilized by both anti-Novartis and
pro-Novartis groups, and how Novartis’ global corporate citizenship
programme succeeded even when it seemed to fail.

Notes:

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