Roche had argued that Natco\u2019s product infringed its patent on Risdiplam, marketed globally as Evrysdi, and requested an order to prevent Natco from manufacturing or exporting the drug until the case was decided. The Supreme Court, however, declined to grant such relief and directed the Delhi High Court to expedite the main suit to reach a final judgment soon.<\/p>\n
The Court\u2019s refusal to block Natco\u2019s production has major implications for patients suffering from SMA, a rare and debilitating genetic disorder. Roche\u2019s branded version is priced at around Rs 6 lakh per bottle in India, while Natco has announced plans to sell its version at roughly Rs 15,900 per bottle\u2014a 97 percent price reduction that could make the drug accessible to a far wider population.<\/p>\n
The decision reflects the judiciary\u2019s continuing effort to balance intellectual property rights with public health priorities. The High Court had earlier noted that affordability and availability of life-saving drugs can be important factors when considering interim injunctions in pharmaceutical patent cases.<\/p>\n
While Natco\u2019s position has been strengthened by the ruling, the central question of whether Roche\u2019s patent on Risdiplam is valid remains unresolved. Analysts note that the High Court had raised preliminary concerns over the novelty and inventive step of Roche\u2019s patent, suggesting it may be vulnerable to challenge under India\u2019s patent law. The outcome of the main suit will ultimately determine whether Natco can continue long-term production of the generic.<\/p>\n
For the pharmaceutical industry, the case marks another instance of India\u2019s courts leaning toward accessibility in life-saving medicine disputes. It reinforces a broader trend of Indian patent jurisprudence giving weight to public health interests, particularly in the case of rare or critical diseases.<\/p>\n
For now, Natco\u2019s win paves the way for its affordable SMA drug to enter the market, offering relief to patients and families who had struggled to afford the original treatment. However, both companies continue to await a final legal verdict that will decide the future of Risdiplam\u2019s patent protection in India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roche had argued that Natco\u2019s product infringed its patent on Risdiplam, marketed globally as Evrysdi, and requested an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[124],"tags":[20920,20919,9805,20918,134],"class_list":["post-35314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-roche","tag-f-hoffmann-la-roche-ag","tag-india-supreme-court","tag-natco-pharma","tag-online-exclusive","tag-roche"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116258187705683064","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}