Médecins Sans Frontières has learnt that the verdict in Indian Supreme Court case of Novartis vs. Government of India will be handed down on Monday, 1 April 2013.
The verdict will be the final act in a long-running bid – started in 2006 – by the Swiss pharmaceutical company to overturn a key public health provision in India’s patent law, Section 3(d).
Should Novartis be successful, patents would be granted far more broadly in India than they currently are, blocking the competition among multiple producers that drives prices down, and restricting access to affordable medicines for millions in India and across the developing world.