India revoked Patent granted to GSK for its Breast Cancer Drug Tykerb

India on 1 August 2013 revoked a patent granted to GlaxoSmith Kline Plc for its breast cancer drug Tykerb. The decision followed the Supreme Court’s decision. The Supreme Court in April 2013 rejected a patent for Novartis AG's cancer drug Glivec, on the basis that it was an amended version of a known molecule called imatinib, which will act as a precedent for more such cases in India.

However, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) upheld a patent granted on the original compound or active pharmaceutical ingredient, lapatinib, saying innovative merit. Tykerb is the salt form of lapatinib sold in India.

India's latest decision is detrimental for GSK, which had cut prices of Tykerb by a third in India as part of a flexible pricing programme. The prorgamme is designed to make important drugs available at more affordable price in certain emerging markets.
Western drugmakers who want a bigger share of India's fast-growing 13 billion US dollars drugs market are getting frustrated by a series of decisions on intellectual property and pricing.