- Loveleen Kaur
First Compulsory License Granted
In a landmark move earlier this year, India’s first compulsory license (CL) was granted to Natco Pharma, for Bayer Corporation’s patented drug Nexavar. The license permitted Natco to manufacture and market the generic version of the drug at INR 8,800 (approximately USD 170) for 120 tablets per month against Bayer’s INR 280,000 ( approximately USD 5170) for the same and in return pay 6% royalty on sales of the drug to Bayer.
When Bayer preferred appeal against the decision of the Controller to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), Bayer’s all contentions were rejected on the basis that if the stay was granted, it would definitely jeopardize the interest of public since the right of access to affordable medicine is a matter of right to dignity for the patients. Henceforth, the appeal was dismissed.
