Challenges to India's Pharmaceutical Patent Laws

An Indian Supreme Court decision about variants of existing compounds could affect access to affordable drugs. The Indian Supreme Court will soon hear final arguments in a challenge by the pharmaceutical company Novartis against the Indian Patent Office's (IPO) rejection of a patent for the leukemia drug Glivec. We discuss key issues, particularly the patentability of new compounds versus variants of existing compounds, and how the outcome of the case might affect patent terms and access to drugs in the developing world.