Bayer’s compulsory licence appeal date set

The Controller of Patents issued a compulsory licence in March to domestic generic drug maker Natco for the cancer treatment drug sorafenib.

The German pharmaceutical company filed its appeal with the country’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board on May 4.

The compulsory licence is in force for the remaining term of the patent licence and requires Natco to pay a royalty rate of 6% of net sales of the drug.

The Controller said in March that he was granting the compulsory licence on the grounds (a) that the reasonable requirements of the public with respect to the patented invention had not been satisfied, (b) that the patented invention was not available to the public at a reasonably affordable price, and (c) that the patented invention was not being worked in India.

Bayer attacked the Patent Controller’s ruling in a statement, saying that it “damages the international patent system and endangers pharmaceutical research”.

For more of Managing IP’s coverage of the case, click here and here. More details are available on Pharmabiz.com.