Govt defends stance in Novartis patent suit

CHENNAI: The Centre on Tuesday submitted before Madras High Court that even if the Patent provision was not TRIPS compliant, it will not offend the fundamental right to equality.

Additional Solicitor General V T Gopalan made the above submission, while replying to the submissions made by senior counsel Shanthi Bhushan and others, appearing for a pharmaceutical major ‘Novartis AG’.

As the arguments were inconclusive, a division bench comprising justice R Balasubramanian and justice Prabha Sridevan posted to Wednesday, further hearing of the petitions filed by ‘Novartis AG’, against the rejection of its patent application for beta crystalline form of imatinib mesylate and also challenging section 3 (d) of the Patents Act, 1970 as amended by Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005.

Gopalan submitted that the court may take into account any view expressed from any source to arrive at a conclusion, and cited a letter from the House of Representatives addressed to ‘Novartis’, in which it was stated that the Indian generic drug field was robust and was supplying nearly two thirds of anti retro viral drugs to the developing nations at an affordable cost. 

Instead of merely challenging the rejection of patent application, ‘Novartis’ should not have challenged the Constitutional validity of Indian legislation which provides for public health and safeguard, he added.

He said rejection of patent right was not just an administrative process but quasi judicial function in which the parties get adequate opportunity and a reasoned order was passed.