*ACTION ALERT! ACTION ALERT!*
*ACT NOW TO PROTECT ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE MEDICINES* Dear Friends, We write to inform you that the next hearing of the Novartis case in the Chennai High Court in India is coming up on *29 January 2007!* * * As you know, the Swiss Pharmaceutical company Novartis has challenged S. 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act which was designed to prevent the granting of frivolous patents. The Government of India included S. 3(d) in the Patent Act in keeping with its constitutional mandate of protecting the right to health of its citizens and by interpreting TRIPS in light of the Doha Declaration. Novartis has dragged Indian cancer patients and the Indian Government to Court over the rejection of its patent application for a crucial anti cancer drug – imatinib mesylate; a drug that Novartis markets for $2700 per patient per month and which generic companies offer for $200 per patient per month. Novartis has challenged not only the rejection of their patent application but also S. 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act on the grounds that it is protecting intellectual property rights. This is not new for Novartis – in 1998 along with other pharma companies they took the South African government to court over their medicines act which allowed compulsory licensing and parallel imports. Their reason – the protection of patent rights! Now Novartis is up to its old tricks again. They are trying to stop affordable medications from India by challenging key public health safeguards of India's patent act. The outcome of this case will influence key patent decisions on essential drugs for AIDS, cancer, TB, etc. TELL NOVARTIS THAT PATIENTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PATENTS…TELL NOVARTIS TO *DROP THE CASE*!!! *What can you do? * * * · *You can sign online petitions at * http://www.msf.org/petition_india/international.html & www.Oxfam.org.uk<http://www.oxfam.org.uk/> *asking Novartis to drop the case; and encourage your friends and colleagues to send the same message to Novartis!* * * · *You can write to the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh with your concerns and ask him to ensure that the case is fully and properly defended by the government in the Chennai High Court. Write to the PM at http://pmindia.nic.in/write.htm or fax him at 91-11-23019334 * * * · *You can organise your own protest against Novartis' actions to coincide with the hearing on 29 January 2007 * * * · *You can write to your local political leadership asking them to ensure that the Indian government is doing all that it can to defend the case.*
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