Tag Archives: Swine Flu

Drug Regulation Innovation Patent

Barriers in Access to Medicine: Yet another Culprit – an Apathetic Government

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Patents impede access to affordable medications. This is now a well-established proposition, though the rate and extent of such impediment will vary from case to case. However, what of non-patent barriers? Unfortunately, this is a topic that has not received as much attention as patents in the mainstream debates. Below is a sorry story reflecting one of the biggest non patent barriers: namely, government apathy! This story begins with a detailed analysis by Vidya Krishnan in an article on LiveMint,…


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Patent

A Strange Brew of Tamiflu and Swine Flu

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  Image taken from here  Everything surrounding the Swine Flu seems to be quite mysterious. Starting with allegations that the virus itself may have been a man-made product that got loose, to the scare being exaggerated to sell more drugs for it and put more money in Donald Rumsfield’s pockets, the events and scenarios existing around this disease are proving to be quite interesting. Yet there are more interesting  ingredients involved in this strange soup. Oseltamivir is one of the best drugs currently…


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Patent

SpicyIP Tidbit: WHO is Looking after Flu Scares?

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An Inter-Governmental meeting this week of the Executive Board Members of the WHO, saw concerns on several different issues being discussed. Regarding a way towards an influenza framework, it was agreed that they would try to complete a framework for dealing with influenza in time for the World Health Assembly in May later this year. One of the main issues discussed was that of development and distribution of vaccines. The usual developed – developing line roughly divided the groups, with…


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Innovation Traditional Knowledge

While India Copies, the Chinese Invent…the Traditional Way

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As we celebrate the efficacy of section 3(d) and our stringent patent opposition mechanism that inter alia, led to the invalidation of a key patent underlying Tamiflu, the Chinese have taken an alternative route, albeit a healthier one. Don’t get me wrong; the term “healthy” does not reflect a comparative value judgment of any sort..it simply highlights the fact that, as with most things allopathic, Tamiflu comes with its fair share of side effects. A report states as below: “Jin…


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Patent

In Favour of Allowing Retail Sales of Tamiflu

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The past few weeks have seen an increase in the number of people infected by swine flu in the country. There is presently no vaccine for the flu and the popular antiviral drug which is being supplied by the government of India is oseltamivir. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu is the patented brand name) is patented by Gilead and exclusively licensed for the purpose of manufacture and sale to Roche. Gilead’s attempt to patent the drug in India was rejected by the Patent…


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Patent

The Swine Flu Outbreak: Cipla on a Patent Roll

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Clearly the gods are smiling on Cipla. First, they win a patent battle over a highly profitable anti cancer drug, Tarceva. Simultaneously, a deadly swine flu strikes and claims several human lives in North America. As nations scramble to address a potential pandemic, Cipla has a generic version of Tamiflu ready to supply any government that wishes to stockpile this drug. Gilead’s Patented “Tamiflu” Tamiflu, a drug patented by Gilead and exclusively licensed for manufacture and sale to Roche is…


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