According to news reports, the People’s Patent Group (PPG), an enterprise of the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) will be making efforts to seek revocation of Pfizer’s patent for its latest HIV drug Celzentry (Maraviroc). Maraviroc received the product patent – it is said the first ARV (anti retro-viral) drug to get patent in India – in 2007. The news report further revels that the grounds on which the PPG will oppose Pfizer’s patent is not clear, however the group has come to know about several flaws in the claims made in the patent application and also about the non-disclosure of human trials and side-effects data. Here, the news report seems to be linking the patent status with the regulatory approval of the drugs. The Drug Controller General of India is still to take any decision with respect to that. A noteworthy thing about the whole scenario is that besides Pfizer’s Maraviroc, there are two ARV drugs – US based Merck’s Raltegravir and J&J’s Etravirine. Indian healthcare groups and NGO’s are mulling challenging these patents also.

Besides a host of healthcare groups and NGO’s, Indian generic drug companies are also aggressively challenging the attempts of making discoveries exclusive for use through a patent. Generic drug maker, Cipla, according to an economic daily, has plans to challenge over 60 drugs patents of global drug majors in cardiology, oncology, anti-bacterial and psychiatric segment.

Drug MNC’s have been filing patent applications in India and though the exact number is unknown, according to an industry estimate, there are about ten thousand patent application in India but most of these applications do not merit a patent in India. According to a patent expert, about 60 percent to 70 percent of these patent claims are for new methods of treatment or new usage of a known drug which cannot be granted patent in India, unless there is significant new therapeutic benefit. The introduction of the amendments through the Patent (Amendment) Act 2005 did have a profound effect on the overall patenting scenario in India. The requirement of “enhanced efficacy” under Section 3(d) of the Patents Act 1970 has become a significant tool in the field of patent protection.

Other drug makers are also learnt to have filed several oppositions. Torrent Pharmaceuticals is learnt have filed about 45 oppositions challenging patents of global MNCs.