Slashdot Mirror
Indian Gov't Uses Special Powers To Slash Cancer Drug Price By 97%
suraj.sun sends this quote from the Times of India:
"In a landmark decision that could set a precedent on how life-saving drugs under patents can be made affordable, the government has allowed a domestic company, Natco Pharma, to manufacture a copycat version of Bayer's patented anti-cancer drug, Nexavar, bringing down its price by 97%. In the first-ever case of compulsory licensing approval, the Indian Patent Office on Monday cleared the application of Hyderabad's Natco Pharma to sell generic drug Nexavar, used for renal and liver cancer, at Rs 8,880 (around $175) for a 120-capsule pack for a month's therapy. Bayer offers it for over Rs 2.8 lakh (roughly $5,500) per 120 capsules. The order provides hope for patients who cannot afford these drugs. The approval paves the way for the launch of Natco's drug in the market, a company official told TOI, adding that it will pay a 6% royalty on net sales every quarter to Bayer."
I guess I have to spell it out. You develop a new pill called Viagra. It costs $1000 a pill but you don't advertise it, so very few people buy it and the cost remains $1000 a pill.
Then you decide to advertise it on TV, radio, and the net and within a year you're selling to over 10 million customers. Thanks to economy of scale, the price per pill drops to $1. Therefore advertising actually saved money (rather than waste money as the great-grandparent post claimed).
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
...but if it's so easy/cheap to do (since everyone's claiming most of pharma $$ are spent on advertising, etc), why doesn't India just develop it themselves?
In other news, were I a pharma company, I would immediately stop selling anything in India...PARTICULARLY where there's an exposure in a local-owned subsidiary that could be nationalized (which is effectively what this decision does).
-Styopa