The hearing on Novartis' case on Section 3(d) of India's Patents Act in Supreme Court is likely be delayed from 28 February to sometime in March as the Mumbai terror attack trial is running late in the court. One of the judges hearing the Mumbai attack case will also be hearing the Novartis case. Another reason for the delay is the court recess in the first week of March due to Holi festival.

The Novartis' Special Leave Petition (SLP), challenging the decision of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) which rejected its appeal for a patent on the beta-crystalline form of imatinib mesylate, an anti-cancer drug, and related petitions, was to be heard by the Supreme Court of India on February 28.  But, in the changed circumstances, the hearing in the case may be delayed. However, the exact date for the next hearing is yet to be decided by the court, sources said.

In this controversial case, the Swiss multinational is challenging Section 3(d) of India's Patents Act which prohibits 'evergreening' - the practice of multinational pharmaceutical companies to extend their patent terms by making small, trivial changes to existing medicines and thereby preventing access to generic affordable drugs. Under Section 3(d), patents will not be granted for new uses or new forms of existing medicines. However, some new forms of existing medicines may get patents if the company can demonstrate a significant increase in efficacy.

In 2006, the Indian patents office ruled that Novartis did not deserve a patent for imatinib mesylate, a salt form of a life-saving cancer drug, on the grounds that the application claimed a new form of a drug too old to be patentable in India. The company then embarked on a series of lawsuits against the Indian government including the one that is currently pending before the Supreme Court.

The case was pending in the court for quite some time. It was listed before the Supreme Court on October 17 2011, but was adjourned to January 17, 2012 for final hearing. However, due to other cases being scheduled around the same time, the hearing of Novartis’ SLP and other related petitions was preponed to November 29, 2011.  The case was listed for hearing on November 29 before a Division Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana P Desai, which again adjourned the matter to February 28.