Month: April 2013

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent an updated version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government hailed as “historic” a Supreme Court ruling on Monday against a plea by Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG to protect the patent on its drug Glivec. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said the ruling — seen as a victory by health rights campaigners — reaffirmed provisions in Indian law that mandate the need for substantial innovation before new patents are issued on medicines. (Reporting By Matthias Williams; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel, editing by Ross Colvin)

Less than half of U.S. adolescents are living heart-healthy lives, and lack of exercise and poor diets could be creating a new generation of heart-disease patients.

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Novartis India Ltd, a unit of Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG, will continue to file for patents in India, its vice chairman said on Monday, after the country’s top court rejected its plea for patent protection of its drug Glivec. Novartis India will also continue to invest there, but with caution, Ranjit Shahani, who is also the managing director of the company, told reporters after the Supreme Court judgment. …

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent a new version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines.

WASHINGTON (AP) — How do you convince millions of average Americans that one of the most complex and controversial programs devised by government may actually be a good deal for them?