India's Supreme Court in April rejected a patent for Novartis AG's cancer drug Glivec, saying it was an amended version of a known molecule called imatinib, setting the precedent for more such cases in the country.
GSK India, which has a turnover of Rs 1,751 crore (Rs 17.51 billion) and launched a cervical cancer drug, Cervarix, and breast cancer drug, Tykerb, last year, plans to launch Promacta, the first oral medication to increase platelet production for people with serious blood disorder, from its parent stable during the current year. Promacta is a relatively new drug, for which approval was given by the US Food and Drug Administration in November last year.
Roche has already adapted its business model in India to increase affordable access to drugs and try to stave off trouble from India's patent authorities.
Experts say despite it being a global deal, the transaction will have to undergo CCI scrutiny because of the scale of operations.
On Tuesday, Novartis agreed to buy GSK's oncology products business for $14.5 billion, while selling its vaccines business, excluding flu, to GSK for $7.1 billion.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances