Skip to main content

Archana Shanker considers the implications of the grant of a compulsory licence for the very first time in the Indian patent system.

The licence was granted to Natco Pharma, a generic drug company, for sorafenib tosylate, a life-extending drug developed, patented and launched by Bayer Corporation. This drug is sold under the trade name of Nexavar and is used for the treatment of advanced-stage kidney and liver cancer.

The Controller General of Patents has set a benchmark in this landmark decision by invoking Section 84(1), a crucial provision of the Indian Patents Act which allows any person interested to file an application for grant of compulsory licence on a patent at any time from three years after grant on various grounds mentioned in the Indian Patents Act.

This article was published in Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review 2012.

To continue reading, please contact us at email@anandandanand.com

Most Recent

News & Insights

VIEW ALL
News & Updates
Aug 25, 2025

At the FICCI–ICRIER Conference on SEPs (23rd August 2025), our Managing Partner Mr. Pravin Anand shared his vision on how India can evolve from being

Conference on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs)
News & Updates
Aug 24, 2025

‘Intellectual Property for a company/ creator is as critical and important as human rights for an individual,’ this guiding belief at ANAND AND ANAND

IAM Strategy 300
Thought Leadership
Aug 21, 2025

‘First published on IAM’ By:  Vaishali R Mittal Patent examination by the Indian Patent Office (IPO) has slowed down dramatically over the last few

Patent examination slowdown risks harming India’s IP momentum
Thought Leadership
Jul 28, 2025

‘First published on Asia IP’ By: Pravin Anand In the book What is Life, written in 1944 by theoretical physicist Erwin Schrödinger, the author states: “A

Human versus machine consciousness