Pre-grant opposition filed against GSK drug

The Indian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (INP+) and the Manipur Network of Positive People (MNP+) have filed a pre-grant opposition against GlaxoSmithKline's anti-AIDS drug, Combivir.

The patent challenge is on the grounds that the drug is not new, but a combination of two essential AIDS drugs Zidovudine and Lamivudine, said a release.

"We are objecting to the patenting of Combivir because it is not a new invention but simply the combination of two existing drugs. The grant of such patent increases the cost of anti-retroviral treatment for many people living with HIV/AIDS," said K K Abraham, president, INP+.

The patent was filed in Kolkata patent office. Earlier, Novartis' cancer drug Gleevac had also been opposed on grounds that it was a new form of an old drug. The patent was subsequently turned down.

Combivir is a widely used fixed dose combination and is used extensively in projects run by several international aid organisations.

Patents create monopolies on drug manufacture and prevent the production of such affordable generic alternatives added the release.

In the country alone there are 5.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Many of them receive generic drugs under the national HIV/AIDS treatment program.

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