Healthy Skepticism Library item: 8590

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Publication type: news

Rep. Waxman Warns Novartis on Lawsuit
Associated Press 2007 Feb 14
http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/13200723808.htm

Full text:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. congressman critical of rising drug costs on Wednesday urged Swiss pharmaceuticals maker Novartis AG to reconsider its patent lawsuit against the Indian government, saying it could chill the supply of affordable drugs in developing nations.

Novartis has challenged India’s decision to not issue a patent for a new version of the company’s leukemia drug Gleevec, sold abroad as Glivec. A win for the company would stop Indian generic drug companies from making cheaper versions of the drug, which sell for a tenth of the $2,600 monthly price charged by Novartis. In 2006 sales of the cancer drug totaled $2.5 billion worldwide.

In a letter to the company, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., writes that Novartis’ lawsuit could influence other Third World countries to adopt more conservative patent laws, which could stop generic drug firms from producing affordable versions of life-saving drugs. Waxman chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and has used that position to investigate how the government approves and pays for drugs.

In his letter, Waxman points out that India’s generic drug industry produces 80 percent of the HIV drugs distributed by the international aid group, Doctors Without Borders, which also opposes the Novartis lawsuit. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Ranbaxy Laboratories are two of the largest Indian generic companies

For its part, Novartis says that defending its patent abroad will help patients in the long run. “History has shown that patents save lives by stimulating research, which leads to innovative medicines,” the company said on its Web site. The company also points out that it already distributes Gleevec for free to 99 percent of patients in India who take the drug.

Shares of Novartis AG rose 87 cents Wednesday to $59.54 on the New York Stock Exchange.