Posts tagged novartis

Photo: Hundreds of activists gathered in New Delhi to protest Novartis’s attack on India’s patent laws in 2007. MSF and others continue to oppose the legal case today. India 2007 © MSF

The Novartis Drop the Case Campaign

Yesterday, India’s Supreme Court upheld India’s Patent Act in the face of a seven-year challenge by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis.

BREAKING NEWS
Novartis has lost its case in Indian Supreme Court today, protecting access to affordable, quality medicines for people in developing countries. 

Indian court case crucial for cancer sufferers

India’s Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a long-running legal case about drug patents. Swiss drug maker Novartis is fighting for exclusive rights to produce its blockbuster cancer drug, Gleevec. If it wins, that will change the rules for generic drugmakers who supply millions of poorer patients in India and elsewhere. It’s also sparked a wider debate about the affordability of life-saving drugs.

Listen to the report from American Public Media’s Marketplace.

Photo: A child suffering from cancer in New Delhi, India. Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

Novartis is challenging the part of India’s patent law that says that a new form of an existing medicine can only be patented if it shows significantly improved therapeutic efficacy. This would stop the process of “evergreening” that lets pharma companies keep their patent longer than the original 20-years intended.

This graphic shows how evergreening poses a real threat to accessing life-saving medicines.

Take action: http://www.msfaccess.org/STOPnovartis

Tuesday, MSF marched in the streets of DC with other organizations at the Internetional AIDS Conference. We told pharma to put people before profits. Millions die without access to affordable generic meds, we marched and will continue to march for them.

Novartis’s Day in Court Set for March 28, Campaign to Drop the Case Continues

Hearings in the case between Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis and the Indian government are now set to start on March 28.

The Novartis supreme court case is the final act in a six-year legal battle over India’s future capacity to produce low-cost generic medicines for its people, and for patients across developing countries.

Given the possible implications for generic production and the availability of affordable medicines from India, Doctors Without Borders —along with other treatment providers, patient groups, and affected communities—has appealed to Novartis to drop its case against India, the “pharmacy of the developing world.”

In February, MSF launched a social media campaign calling for Novartis to stop its legal attacks against India which threaten access to medicines for its patients. To participate in the Stop Novartis campaign, visit www.msfaccess.org/STOPnovartis.

Photo: India 2011 © Guddu MSF protested Novartis’s case against the Indian government outside the pharmaceutical company’s Mumbai office on World AIDS Day.

Yesterday, Doctors Without Borders joined other demonstrators to protest outside the New York offices of the pharmaceutical company Novartis. The protest was against an attack on India’s patent law by Novartis, a case currently before India’s Supreme Court.

If Novartis wins, the production of life-saving generic medicines – including important anti-retroviral drugs for people living with HIV/AIDS – could be adversely affected.

TAKE ACTION!

Photo: 2012 © Michael Goldfarb

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Follow us @MSF_USA for updates from the protest today. If you can’t make it to NYC, share this petition in solidarity with the millions around the world whose access to medicine is being threatened. Every reblog counts!

CALL TO PUBLIC ACTION AGAINST NOVARTIS IN NYC

Novartis has been attacking India’s patent law for six years, and if it wins, it could change the way drugs are patented in India, which would restrict the production of more affordable generic versions of drugs. Eighty percent of the medicines MSF uses to treat 170,000 people living with HIV in its projects today are sourced from Indian generic drug companies. The case is before India’s Supreme Court – the hearings start on 28th Feb.

Now it is time for us to join and support our colleague’s actions here in New York. We will be joining activists from Health GAP on Wednesday to protest Novartis’ case ahead of the company’s shareholder meeting.

Where? Novartis Corporation Corporate Communications 230 Park Avenue (between 46th & 45th) New York, NY 10169

When? Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 11:30 AM New York, NY

What? Join activists to protest the Novartis case.

OTHER ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE:
Please sign and share this online petition

MSF’s Access Campaign has been in New Delhi working with Indian civil society groups to rally public support against Novartis’ case. Marches and press conferences are being organized in Mumbai near the Novartis India office for the week of February 28 to coincide with the Indian Supreme Court hearing.

Health GAP and ACT UP activists will be mobilizing Wednesday in Boston outside Novartis’ US office as well.

Photo:India 2007 © MSF