Mumbai: Shares of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis fell about 4.5 per cent on Monday after the Supreme Court of India dismissed its plea for a patent on its cancer drug, Gelvic. Shares of select Indian pharmaceutical companies rallied as the industry is set to receive a boost following the verdict.
Brokers say the market is betting more local pharma companies will be encouraged to come out with the copycat generic versions of life-saving drugs. The Supreme Court upheld an earlier verdict by the tribunal and patent body and said that Glivec failed the test for innovation as specified under the Patent Act.
Shares of drug companies Cipla, Dr Reddy's, Ranbaxy, Glenmark and Aurobindo Pharma were up between 2 to 5 per cent. Indian drug companies can now roll out a generic version of the drug, which can cost about Rs 10,000 a month - slashing the price by almost 92 per cent. Currently priced at Rs 1.2 lakh for a monthly dosage, Glivec is a major advance in treating chronic myeloid leukaemia, which kills 80-90 per cent of sufferers, and some gastrointestinal cancers.
(With Additional Inputs From moneycontrol.com)
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