In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has rejected the plea of Swiss drugmaker Novartis to patent Glivec, used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia, paving the way for other manufacturers to make and sell versions of the medicine.

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has rejected the plea of Swiss drugmaker Novartis to patent Glivec, used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia, paving the way for other manufacturers to make and sell versions of the medicine.

Novartis has been fighting for a patent on Glivec since 1998. Earlier, the Chennai patent office denied it one, saying imatinib mesylate, used in Glivec, was not a new molecule, but an altered version of something that had already been in the market for many years. On Monday, a bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai, too, dismissed the company’s plea on the same ground.

“The judgment is a victory for Indian companies, they can now manufacture cheaper drugs so long as there is no patent,” said Pratibha Singh, advocate for Ranbaxy and Cipla, which had opposed Novartis’ plea.

“The court has held that the drug is not novel, not inventive and does not satisfy the requirements of section 3(d) (of the Indian Patent Law),” said advocate Anand Grover, who appeared for the Indian Cancer Patients Aid Association.

Though visibly upset, Ranjit Shahani, managing director of Novartis India, said the company will file patents and carry on investing in the country, but with caution, and will continue to refrain from research and development activities here. “The intellectual property ecosystem in India is not very encouraging,” he said.