India's Patent Office, acting on a petition by local drug maker Natco Pharma, denied a patent for Abraxis BioScience's drug Abraxane (paclitaxel) for treating cancer. The agency said it denied the patent on grounds the drug was not novel, that it lacked an inventive element, the same grounds used and upheld by India's Supreme Court for denying Novartis a patent for its Glivec (imatinib) cancer drug last year. The Patent Office said it relied on that court decision in reaching its conclusion regarding Abraxane. (Click here for more
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