India upholds compulsory license for Nexavar

India's Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) rejected a petition from Bayer AG (Xetra:BAYN) seeking a stay of an order granting Natco Pharma Ltd. (BSE:NATCO; NSE:NATCOPHAR) a compulsory license in India to manufacture and market a generic version of Bayer's kidney and liver cancer drug Nexavar sorafenib. In March, the Indian Patent Office said it granted a compulsory license for Nexavar because Bayer did not make the drug available to the public at a "reasonably affordable price." The license allows Natco to sell sorafenib in India at a price not exceeding Rs8,880 ($164) for a month's supply of 120 tablets. Bayer markets Nexavar in India at a price of about Rs280,000 ($5,180) a month (see BioCentury Extra, March 12).

Bayer said in its petition the compulsory license was unnecessary, as sorafenib already is available to the public at a reasonable price -- Rs5,400 ($100) a month -- from generic company Cipla Ltd. (Mumbai, India). Bayer is suing Cipla for patent infringement of sorafenib. The case is pending. Bayer's Indian patent covering Nexavar expires in 2021. ...