The Global Movement Around the Imatinib Mesylate Case and Its Roots in the AIDS Movement

Abstract

Starting in 2006, a patent dispute erupted in India with significant implications for global access to medicine. An application by Novartis for a ‘new formulation’ patent on the cancer drug imatinib mesylate was rejected, and Novartis responded by challenging the legality of provisions in India’s patent legislation. A global activist movement emerged in defence of those aspects of the legislation that limit patentability, mainly because of India’s critical role as a supplier of generic medicines to developing countries. This mobilisation exploited existing activist networks and broader ‘networks of influence’ built during prior campaigns conducted around access to antiretroviral drugs. AIDS activists consequently played a key role in the global mobilisation around the imatinib mesylate dispute, aimed at generating public outrage and political pressure against Novartis’s challenge to Indian patent law. A critical ‘broker’ in these transnational networks is identified as the medical charity Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), which linked disparate activist groups, disseminated information and mobilised AIDS activists globally. In 2013 the Indian Supreme Court upheld the relevant sections of the law, representing a victory for the campaign. This movement illustrates the power of transnational mobilisation, but the medicines access movement faces significant challenges to its sustainability and future success.

Keywords: patents, intellectual property rights, India, AIDS activism, medicines access activism

JEL Classification: I11, I18, K11, K33, K41, F13