Indian company Natco Pharma Limited will manufacture a copy-cat version of Bayer’s cancer treatment drug Nexavar (Sorafenib) in the first case of compulsory licencing there following a decision by the Indian Patent Office on Monday

The Natco Pharma generic version of Nexavar (Sorafenib), used in the treatment of primary kidney cancer (advanced renal cell carcinoma) and advanced primary liver cancer, is expected to be up to 97 percent cheaper than the Bayer product

According to media reports the Natco Pharma generic version of Nexavar (Sorafenib) will sell for around $US175) for a 120-capsule, one-month course of treatment, compared to about $5,500 for the Bayer branded product.

The ruling will see Natco Pharma may a 6 percent royalty on net sales to Bayer quarterly, and valid until the patent on Nexavar (Sorafenib) expires in 2020.

The decision has angered Bayer, who said it will “evaluate options to defend intellectual property rights” in India.

According to Indian law a compulsory licence to manufacture a drug can be issued after three years of the grant of patent on the product, which is not available at an affordable price.

According to Indian Patent Office controller general, P H Kurian, Bayer failed to price the drug at a level that made it accessible and affordable, it also was unable to ensure that the medicine was available in sufficient quantities within India.

Mr. Kurian said the decision was substantiated by Bayer’s own admission that only 2 percent of kidney cancer and liver cancer patients were able to access the drug, due to its price, which did not constitute a “reasonably affordable” price.

Fellow Indian generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Cipla is currently embroiled in a legal battle with Bayer in the Delhi High Court, after releasing it’s own generic Nexavar (Sorafenib) last year at a cost of $560 for a one-month, 120-pill pack of Nexavar (Sorafenib).

Source: Govt uses special powers to slash cancer drug price by 97%

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John Le Fevre

Editor at Photo-journ.com

John Le Fevre is an Australian national with more than 30 years' experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer and copy editor. He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia and previously held senior editorial staff positions with various Southeast Asia English language publications and international news agencies. He has covered major world events including the 1991 pillage riots in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2009 Songkran riots in Bangkok, and the 2010 ant-government Bangkok protests. In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.

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