Post Supreme Court verdict, Novartis to invest in India 'cautiously'

Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG will continue to invest in India, the vice chairman and managing director of the company said today after the Supreme Court dismissed the pharmaceutical major's plea for patent protection of its cancer drug Glivec.

"We are disappointed with the decision. We will continue with our investments in India but cautiously," Ranjit Shahani, vice chairman and managing director, Novartis India said while addressing a press conference in Mumbai.

"Today we have a situation in the country where the company has a patent for a product but it is revoked. We hope this system improves," he added.

The apex court's verdict is likely to boost the prospect of Indian pharmaceutical companies over foreign ones.

The order also sets a benchmark for several intellectual property disputes in India, where many patented drugs are unaffordable for most of the country's population, 40 per cent of whom ean less than Rs. 70 a day