Click to play videoMumbai: Thirty two-year-old Laxman Bhaskar has been using a screen printer to earn a living for the last eight years working for the Cancer Patients Aid Association.
The Association has generously supported him with a salary of Rs 3,000 apart from footing a hefty medicine bill that Laxman spends on treating his chronic myeloid leukemia.
But Laxman's meagre salary could not support the only treatment available for his condition simply because the drug - Glivec made by Novartis, cost over Rs 1 lakh per month.
But a Madras High court order has given many like Laxman hope after it dismissed a petition by Novartis challenging the Indian Patent Act which prevented them from patenting modifications made to an existing drug. As a result, Indian companies can now offer the drug at 1/10th of the cost.
“It's great if the price reduces. A patient like me cannot afford medicines costing Rs 1,20,000. I'm poor. It'll be good if the price reduces by a lakh,” says Lakshman.
According to the Cancer Patients Aids Association, the Madras High Court order would go a long way in making cancer drug cheaper. There are more than 50,000 patients suffering from chronic myloid leukemia in the country waiting for treatment.
"It's possible the drug prices going up 10-15 times will be eliminated because of the judgment,” says Founder Chairman, Cancer Patients Aid Association, Y K Sapru.
While the court decision may have come as a big relief to Indian companies and patients like Laxman, for Novartis, the going looks tough with their biggest blockbuster drug, Glivec going off patent.
(With inputs from Jency Jacob in Mumbai)
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