India rejects Pfizer’s patent application for cancer drug

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

India rejects Pfizer’s patent application for cancer drug

The Patent Controller has rejected the international pharmaceutical company’s application for lack of inventive step, reports The Business Standard

Monday’s holding is the second time that the Patent Office has ruled against Pfizer’s patent for its Sutent (sunitinib) anti-cancer drug. Last October, the Patent Controller made a similar finding after domestic generic manufacturer Cipla filed a post-grant opposition to the patent (patent number IN209251). An appeal to the Supreme Court reinstated the patent with orders for the Controller to rehear the matter.

Pfizer had also filed for an injunction with the Delhi High Court to stop Cipla’s sale of its generic version, which costs roughly one-fourth of Pfizer’s Rs196,000 ($3600) price for a 45-day treatment. The Delhi High Court stayed its hearings pending the Patent Controller’s ruling.

A spokesperson for Pfizer says that the company plans to appeal, and that it “remain(s) concerned about the environment for innovation and investment in India”.

Cipla was represented by Singh and Singh.

Pfizer has faced multiple challenges to its Sutent patent. In 2008, it successfully withstood an application by Natco for a compulsory licence on the grounds that there was a public health crisis in Nepal.

Natco later became the first company to receive a compulsory licence in India after it received one last March for Bayer’s Nexavar (sorafenib), a drug for treating kidney cancer.


For more on this case and what it means for pharmaceutical patents in India, come to Managing IP's India IP and Innovation Forum in New Delhi on March 7.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

A flurry of hiring activity among UK firms suggests they are confident of mounting a serious challenge at the UPC
With the submission deadline approaching, we sat down with our research team to provide top tips on how to make your firm stand out
EA, owner of video games including Madden and The Sims, will be sold to a consortium including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and a firm owned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law
New arrival marks Mewburn Ellis' second partner hire in ten days as firm looks to boost patent litigation and prosecution capabilities
In-house counsel and teams are invited to submit information for the 21st annual Managing IP Awards
The 2025 list of Rising Stars and Corporate Stars, produced by Managing IP’s accreditation title IP STARS, is now available
Eszter Szakács, partner at Danubia in Hungary, discusses women’s progression, workplace flexibility, and how to deal with imposter syndrome
Rob Fewery is a solicitor at Allwyn Entertainment in the UK
Piotr Rafalski is a patent attorney at Qemetica in Poland
Joanna Rodrigues is an IP lawyer at Dassault Systèmes in France
Gift this article