Patent over Cancer Drug Dasatinib to stay with Bristol Myers Squibs; Delhi High Court

In a matter of huge relief for medicine manufacturer Bristol Myers Squibs, the Delhi High Court has upheld its patent over Dasatinib, a cancer drug. The Court accordingly rejected the petition of BDR Pharmaceuticals, an Indian company that had opposed the patent on the grounds that the same amounted to ever-greening.

Evergreening is a concept under the law as per which patent holders try and make certain changes to the product they already have a patent on and then try get a patent for the new product. However, under the Indian law, Evergreeningis banned and no patent can be obtained on products that are found to be flouting evergreening clause.

BDR Pharmaceuticals also submitted to the Court that the high prices of Dasatinib, a drug used to treat blood cancer is against public interest. In its application for seeking a compulsory license, BDR had claimed that it can provide the drug at Rs. 8,100 per month to the public while at present, Bristol Myers Squibs’s drug costs Rs. 1 lac per month.

Earlier, the Patent Office had also rejected BDR’s application for compulsory license, against which it had approached the High Court, which too rejected its plea.