The Madras High Court, which heard Novartis petition against Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB)'s decision to allow the former Patent Controller General S Chandrasekharan as the IPAB technical member to hear the Swiss drug major's patent plea for cancer drug Glivec, has agreed to consider removal of Chandrashekharan.

Hearing the case, high court agreed the proposal offered by the government of India. The government suggested a revised approach consisting of a chairman and a vice-chairman. The court has invited written comments from both sides and will reconvene on October 22 to make a final decision.

Earlier, Novatis had filed a writ petition with the Madras High Court contesting IPAB's decision to allow the former Patent Controller General S Chandrasekharan as the IPAB technical member to hear the Swiss drug major's patent plea for its blockbuster cancer drug Glivec.

The IPAB had on July 20 this year dismissed Novartis petition against the appointment of S Chandrasekharan as the IPAB technical member.

Novartis had taken strong exception to the appointment of Chandrasekharan as the technical member of the IPAB terming him an interested party on the plea that Chandrasekharan was the controller general of patent office when the Novartis' patent application for its cancer drug Glivec was rejected. The Novartis had challenged the matter before the Board.

Novartis is petitioning the High Court for a new technical member as it disagreed with the appointment of the former Controller General of the Indian Patent Office to the IPAB. Novartis argued that it wanted an opportunity to explain its case clearly to an objective board. As Chandrasekharan was instrumental for the original rejection of the Glivec patent, and was a party in the patent appeal in the High Court, Novartis pleaded that he cannot act as an impartial member of the Board.