Bias concern of Novartis' patent law suit in India

In Chennai, India, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board has rejected an application by Swiss drug major Novartis to remove the newly-appointed technical member of the appellate board, Shri S Chandrasekaran, the former Controller General of the Indian Patent Office. The summary decision is the latest development in a law suit in India, brought by the drugmaker to challenge the country's 2005 patent law and the refusal to award a patent for the oncology drug Glivec/Gleevec (imatinib).

In court on July 10, the IPAB heard arguments from Novartis that Mr Chandrasekaran should be replaced on the grounds of potential prejudice (Marketletter June 25). As the IPO's Controller General, Mr Chandrasekaran was responsible for overseeing the original decision on the Glivec patent in 2006 and was acting as a party in the recent court case, the Swiss firm argued.

Novartis awaits written judgement