MSF Hands Over Petition with 420,000 signatures to Novartis

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After Indian court ruling, MSF Hands Over Petition with 420,000

signatures to Novartis: MSF asks company not to pursue case

Basel, 8 August 2007 – The international medical humanitarian

organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) delivered a petition with

over 420,000 names to Novartis corporate headquarters in Basel

today. Novartis lost a legal challenge against India's patent law on

Monday.

" Monday's court decision in India is critical for us as doctors, who

now feel confident that we will be able to continue to rely on India

as a source of affordable medicines for our patients, " said Dr.

Christophe Fournier, International President of MSF. " We are pleased

to hear that Novartis does not intend to appeal this decision. And

we call on the company to refrain from pushing for a challenge of the

Indian Patents Act at the World Trade Organization or otherwise. "

Novartis challenged a provision in India's Patents Act that makes it

more difficult for companies to receive patents on changes to

existing drugs or combinations of drugs, claiming that this was not

compliant with WTO rules and with the Indian constitution. The court

rejected all of Novartis's claims. If the company had won, drug

patents would have likely been granted far more widely in India,

restricting generic competition.

" We would like to express sincere gratitude to everyone who

contributed to the global mobilization against Novartis's legal

challenge in India, " said Dr. Fournier. " Hundreds of thousands of

people on six continents made this happen and were a part of helping

maintain India's role as pharmacy of the developing world. "

Developing countries and international agencies like UNICEF and the

Clinton Foundation rely heavily on importing affordable drugs from

India, and 84% of the AIDS drugs MSF prescribes to its patients

worldwide come from Indian generic companies.

" Novartis has expressed concern that this ruling will have a negative

impact on innovation, " said Pere-Joan Pons, Campaigner with MSF in

Switzerland. " But the reality is that stronger patent regimes have

not lead to the development of drugs and medical tools desperately

needed by people in poor countries. "

A World Health Organization report released in April 2006 found that

increased intellectual property protection in developing countries

had not led to higher levels of research and development (R & D) for

diseases that primarily affect the developing world. It is crucial

that there is support for international discussions on new ways to

foster R & D that responds to health needs and at the same time ensures

that medical innovations are

affordable.

" We hope that the ruling upholding India's patent law sets a

precedent, and that other countries decide to enact rules that

increase both access to needed medicines and the development of new

treatments so desperately needed in the developing world, " said Pons.

Contact: Sheila Shettle, MSF: +41.22.849.8403 or +41.79.293.0270

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