The re-hearing in the post grant opposition against the patent granted to Roche for Pegasys (Peg intergferon alpha 2B), a key drug used for Hepatitis-C treatment, has been adjourned by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) in Chennai without fixing any new date for next hearing.

The crucial hearing on the case was held by the IPAB on two days on July 30 and 31. Though the argument in the case was not complete, the hearing was adjourned by the Board without fixing any new date for the next hearing of the case which is crucial for the civil society as the treatment for hepatitis-C is currently very expensive and out of reach of people due to the patent on this drug.

The post grant opposition on this case was filed by Sankalp Rehab Trust.

The case is significant because in spite of recent advances in the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection, many people in Asia struggle to access it, due to the limited availability of generic pegylated interferon – a key component of effective treatment regimens.

Earlier, after the initial rejection of the patent challenge for one of the few generic formulations of this medicine in India – pegylated interferon alpha 2a – a re-hearing has been scheduled for July 30 and 31 at the IPAB in Chennai.   The maintenance of the patent on the Pegasys formulation of this medicine, essential to the treatment of HIV-hepatitis-C co-infected patients, would block treatment access and increase the risk of liver failure and death for thousands across the region.

According to civil society groups working in the health sector, the re-hearing of the patent challenge is an opportunity to create access to a medicine that is critical for the survival of HIV-hepatitis C co-infected people. Resource-limited Asian countries cannot procure patented pegylated interferon at the current pricing, which drastically hampers their ability to respond to hepatitis C infection on a national level.

Given that the Indian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has already recommended in its 57th report that the country should boost local production of hepatitis medicines and use existing health safeguards in the patent law to reduce medicine prices, advocates and patients alike are ready to see the patent restrictions lifted now, civil society groups said.