The cases are more complicated than they may initially appear, India rejects patent claims on two HIV/AIDS drugs. The U.S. manufacturers of Tenofovir and Darunavir were rebuffed in their patent applications for the second generation HIV/AIDS drugs. An Indian-based company, Cipla had filed suit against the drugs produced by Gilead Sciences and Tibotec Pharmaceuticals.
Wiki tells that Tenofovir disoproxil fumrate is sold by Gilead Sciences under the trade name of Viread. The drug blocks reverse transcriptase, which is an enzyme that converts single-stranded RNA into single-stranded DNA. The enzyme permits the HIV virus to insert its genomes into the patient's DNA, where it will be replicated in normal cell activity.
Darunavir is different, according to Wiki. It is a protease inhibitor which inhibits the production of HIV-1 protease, which is is necessary for reproduction of the virus. Wiki adds it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2006.
Back to the Indian Patent Office's (IPO) rejection. Tenofovir's U.S. patent protection was revoked in January of 2008 because contesting parties proved the substance was known at the time of application. IPO rejected the drug for the same reason. Darunavir was rejected because IPO decided it was a slight modification of an existing compound, a business tactic known as 'evergreening'. Indian law prohibits this business strategy of updating older drugs and applying for new patents.
India rejects ARV patent applications, saving "countless lives" tells that a Swiss drug manufacturer is protesting a similar decision by the IPO to the India Supreme Court. Meanwhile, it appears that some lower-priced medication will become available to the developing world.
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