PHA-Exchange> Novartis & Gleevac in India

[claudio at hcmc.netnam.vn]

Gopal Dabade <drdabade at gmail.com>:
Karnataka, India.
> Email; - drugactionforumkarnataka at gmail.com, Web; - www.daf-k.cjb.net
> 
> 
> Drug Action Forum – Karnataka (DAF-K) is an independent, voluntary and
> registered non government organisation campaigning for Rational Drugs. DAF –
> K is part of Jan Swastya Abhiyan (JSA is People's Health Movement – India,
> http;//phm-india.org). Also member of AIDAN (All India Drug Action Network,
> www.aidanindia.org) and HAIAP (Health Action International Asia Pacific
> www.haiap.org).
> 
> This is an appeal to you to contribute to put pressure on Novartis in the
> larger interests of the patients suffering from blood cancer in India and
> other developing countries as well as all patients who need access to
> essential medicines.
> 
> Novartis, the Swiss Multinational pharmaceutical company, has filed a case
> in the Chennai High Court against the order of the Chennai Patent office
> rejecting the patent application filed by them for getting a patent on
> imatinib mesylate, the trade name being 'Gleevec'. Imatinib mesylate is
> extremely useful in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
> Currently it is being produced in its generic form by NATCO, Cipla, Ranbaxy
> and Hetero as well as by Novartis under the brand name Gleevec. Treatment
> with Gleevec, the Novartis' brand costs Rs. 1.2 lakh (2500 US dollars) per
> month, whereas the Indian generic versions cost about Rs. 8000 (175 US
> dollars)! If product patent is granted to Novartis for imatinib mesylate,
> the Indian generic versions will be forced to go out of the market, while
> the treatment of the CML would cost Rs. 1.2 lakh per month and this would go
> out of the reach of 99% of the patients of CML. Novartis' price is a clear
> example of excessive pricing which it has enforced across the world. There
> is no explanation as to why Novartis is not offering different prices
> depending on the circumstances in a country like India. It is clear that
> they are only interested in placing profits before patients' lives.
 We earnestly appeal you to boycott 
> Novartis brands until Novartis stops its legal actions in India in the
> imatinib mesylate case, drops its exorbitant global price for imatinib
> mesylate and stops trying to influence the government to introduce laws and
> policies that keep medicines out of patients hands by signing the attached
> letter and marking a copy of the same to DAF-K (You may change the content
> as long as the essence and spirit of the letter is retained and also you may
> copy the same on your letter pad). If you need more information or a soft
> copy of this campaign letter please contact DAF-K at the address and cell
> numbers mentioned in this letter.
> 

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