2007年VOA标准英语-Medical Aid Groups Welcome Indian Court Ruling

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
10 August 2007

Medical aid groups - fighting for access to cheap medicines for the poor - are applauding an Indian court's decision to throw out a Swiss drug company's legal challenge on patent issues. Anjana Pasricha tells us more from VOA's bureau in New Delhi.

The court in Chennai threw out Swiss pharmaceutical¹ giant Novartis' challenge to India's patent law - in a case closely watched around the world.

Novartis had filed suit after its bid to patent a new version of its anti-cancer drug, Gleevec, was rejected earlier this year. Indian law denies patents for minor² improvements to existing medicines.

The ruling means Indian companies can continue to manufacture and sell medicines produced before 1995 - such as Gleevec - at a fraction of the price in Western countries. The only caveat³ is that domestic companies must use a different manufacturing process from that of the inventor.

The patent law here has enabled the Indian pharmaceutical industry to emerge as a major supplier of affordable⁴ drugs throughout the developing world.

Tido von Schoen-Angerer, a director at the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, called the ruling a "major victory" for poor people across the world.

activists5 hold placards and shout slogans against harmaceutical firm Novartis during a demonstration6 in New Delhi, 29 Jan 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070817/1037470.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Indian people infected with HIV and activists hold placards and shout slogans against harmaceutical firm Novartis during a demonstration in New Delhi, 29 Jan 2007

"The ruling still allows that for medicines that are not real breakthrough, big innovations, not to be patented in India," he said. "Right now we have a desperate need for several of the new HIV medicines to be produced cheaply in India, but the same will be true for all other inventions in other disease area be it cancer or other infectious diseases. So this has very broad importance for health in developing countries."

The Indian pharmaceutical industry - which is raking in profits - is also pleased with the ruling - noting that hundreds of similar pending⁷ patent applications will not be approved, and it can continue making a host of drugs, including anti-AIDS medicines.

The secretary-general of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, Dilip.G. Shah, says the ruling is a "major relief."

"Number of products which are in the market, they will be able to manufacture and continue to market them, and it will also save them from expensive litigation," said Shah.

Novartis, however, says the Chennai court ruling will have negative consequences for research into and development of better drugs for patients in India and overseas. It says the Indian patent law stifles⁸ innovation.

Several developed countries argue that drug patents must be protected worldwide, because pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars to create new drugs. The issue is a key sticking point in trade liberalization talks at the World Trade Organization.

1 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 caveat   

n.警告； 防止误解的说明

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling.为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。
• As I have written before,that's quite a caveat.正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

7 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

8 stifles   

（使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的第三人称单数 )； 镇压，遏制

参考例句：

• This stifles the development of the financial sector. 这就遏制了金融部门的发展。
• The fruits of such a system are a glittering consumer society which stifles creativity and individuality. 这种制度的结果就是一个压制创造性和个性的闪光的消费者社会。