“Nearly 2 billion people have no access to basic medicines, causing a cascade of preventable misery and suffering. Good health is impossible without access to pharmaceutical products.” The World Health Organization’s (WHO) ‘Access to Medicine’ report on ‘Ten years in … Continue reading
The main reason why cancer is so serious a disease, is the ability of the malignant cells to spread in the body, both locally by moving into nearby normal tissue, and regionally to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, or organs, affecting even … Continue reading
Prices of new drugs for the treatment of life-threatening ailments, such as cancer, are increasingly becoming unsustainable, across the world, and more in India. As articulated by the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2014, this is primarily due to … Continue reading
Two news reports of the last week, though no longer shocking, made me think exactly the same way as the headline of this article epitomizes. These reports are not just two isolated instances, but an integral part of a similar … Continue reading
According to the ‘Fact-Sheet 2014′ of the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer cases would rise from 14 million in 2012 to 22 million within the next two decades. It is, therefore, no wonder that cancers figured among the leading causes … Continue reading
Astronomical prices of patented anti-cancer dugs have become a subject of great concern not just in India. It is becoming an issue across the world. After issuing the first ever Compulsory License (CL) for Nexavar of Bayer in India, the … Continue reading
An article published in a global business magazine on December 5, 2013 mentioned that Marijn Dekkers, the CEO of Bayer AG reportedly has said at the Financial Times Global Pharmaceutical & Biotech Conference held this month that: “Bayer didn’t develop its cancer drug, Nexavar (sorafenib) for … Continue reading
The recent verdict of the Supreme Court against Novartis, upholding the decision of the Indian Patent Office (IPO) against grant of patent to their cancer drug Glivec, based on Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act, has caused a flutter … Continue reading