India grants compulsory license for Nexavar
The Indian Patent Office granted Natco Pharma Ltd. (BSE:NATCOPHAR) a compulsory license in India to manufacture and market a generic version of kidney and liver cancer drug Nexavar sorafenib. According to the order, Natco can sell the product at a price not exceeding Rs8,880 ($177) for a month's supply of 120 tablets. Bayer AG (Xetra:BAYN) markets Nexavar in India at a price of Rs280,428 ($5,608) for a month's supply. Natco will be required to pay a 6% royalty to Bayer and supply the generic for free to at least 600 needy patients per year. Natco also must manufacture its generic in India. Natco's non-exclusive license is valid until Bayer's Indian patent covering Nexavar expires in 2021.
Controller General Shri P. H. Kurian said in his decision that Bayer did not make Nexavar available to the public at a "reasonably affordable price." He also said that Bayer did not adequately "work the invention on a commercial scale" in India because the pharma imported Nexavar. ...