The Patent Controller's decision last week to reject the application for grant of patent for Glivec, the expensive anti cancer drug, has been welcomed by the cancer patients and their associations in the country. Another jubilant group is the prominent generic manufacturers like Cipla, Ranbaxy and Sun Pharma who are now free to relaunch their products if Novartis does not move court against the Patent Controller's decision. The Novartis' drug costs Rs 120,000 for an year's treatment whereas the cost comes to about Rs 10,000 for treating with generics produced by domestic pharma companies. With the grant of Exclusive Marketing Rights to Novartis in 2004 and subsequent litigations, most of the Indian companies had to discontinue marketing their imatinib mesylate brands in India. The Hyderabad-based Natco, however continued to market its product as that is the only company which obtained a stay against Novartis' EMR. But a good number of cancer patients are not able to procure Natco's product and still have to go for the expensive Glivec. Novartis has a Glivec International Patient Assistance Programme for the benefit of poor patients worldwide and the drug is given free to those patients who are not insured and those who are not getting reimbursed the cost of treatment. As per this condition a patient covered by Employee State Insurance Scheme is disqualified to be benefited under GIPAP as most of the low paid employees both in the public and private sectors are covered by ESIS. But the company still claims that 99 per cent of Indian patients are benefited out of the scheme. The insurance coverage under ESIS is just nominal and that does not enable the patients to go for such expensive treatment. If Novartis is really serious to help poor cancer patients, it has to realistically assess the economic conditions of the patients before denying the benefit to this class of patients. Cancer continues to be, perhaps, the most dreaded disease known to man with no drug available for its total cure. The drugs discovered by the pharmaceutical industry so far can only provide some relief and prolong the life at highly unaffordable costs to most patients. The disease is no more restricted to affluent people and is affecting all classes today. Neither government nor any private bodies have the exact data of people suffering from this disease in the country. Their number should be several lakhs. Considering the prohibitive cost of treatment of the disease and the low income levels of growing number of poor patients, government and pharmaceutical companies have a collective responsibility to provide these drugs at affordable prices. The government's proposal to exempt all anti cancer and HIV drugs from Central taxes and local levies in the new drug policy is with this objective. A list of 63 anti cancer drugs has been already prepared by the department of chemicals in this regard. Industry and trade would also be asked to reduce their margins to the minimum and pass on the benefit to the patients. Rejection of Novartis application for Glivec patent should also be evaluated in this context of government initiative to make cancer drugs affordable to the masses.