INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Novartis again lose Gleevec patent case

---

NEWS OF THE WEEK

RECESSION HITS CHEMICAL WORKERS

“The number of production workers and how many hours they work during the week are a good proxy for production,” Swift says. According to the government data, all but 800 of the chemical jobs lost were production jobs, although weekly hours worked have been EMPLOYMENT: Production cutbacks stable. are to blame for loss of 41,300 jobs Production-related job losses should start to slow now that chemical executives are more comfortable with inventory levels after months of destocking, UNE EMPLOYMENT DATA from the Department says Tom Morrison, human capital principal at De“Furloughs, of Labor show that job losses in the chemical secloitte Consulting. Skilled production workers and flexible tor have accelerated during 2009. Preliminary R&D staff will be prized by companies that are hopworkforce numbers indicate that the industry employs 41,300 ing to receive government stimulus funds, he says. fewer workers than at the same time a year earlier, a To stay competitive, firms are trying to avoid layarrangements, decrease of 4.8%. offs while controlling labor costs. “Furloughs, flexworkhour The shrinking chemical workforce is part of a broader ible workforce arrangements, workhour cutbacks, cutbacks ... contraction in U.S. employment. shift reconfigurations—we’ve we’ve seen Total nonfarm jobs slipped by 4.2% seen every possible iteration of CHEMICAL EMPLOYMENT for the 12-month period. In June that coming out of the chemical every possible Workforce continued to shrink in iteration alone, an estimated 467,000 nonindustry,” Morrison observes. first half of 2009 of that.” farm workers lost their jobs, and In fact, Wacker Chemie re—TOM MORRISON unemployment has stayed at 9.5%. cently announced that it will % change from previous year 6 The government figures show that eliminate 800 positions as ■ Overall ■ Production the manufacturing sector—which part of a restructuring but 4 includes the chemical industry— says it hopes to avoid layoffs by 2 was hit hardest, with a 12.3% demoving many employees to its cline in jobs since June 2008. growing polysilicon business (see 0 Employment in the chemical inpage 16). dustry has been slipping for years Still, Morrison anticipates that –2 because of a long-running increase as the downturn continues there –4 in productivity. More recently, prowill be more large acquisitions, duction cutbacks that were instiwhich usually lead to layoffs at –6 tuted in response to the recession the combined companies. Dow’s –8 are the bigger culprit, according to acquisition of Rohm and Haas, a a J J A S O N D J F M A M J T. Kevin Swift, chief economist at for example, will mean 3,500 job 2008 2009 the American Chemistry Council, cuts at the combined firm (C&EN, a Preliminary. the U.S. chemical industry’s main March 16, page 9).—MELODY SOURCE: Department of Labor trade organization. VOITH

J

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Novartis again loses Gleevec patent case in India India’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board has ruled that Novartis’ patent on the cancer drug Gleevec is not valid in that country. The decision marks the third time in four years that Novartis has failed in attempts to legally enforce its patent on the drug. Concurring with earlier decisions, the board ruled that Gleevec is nothing but a crystal modification of an older drug that was initially patented in 1993 and therefore does not qualify as a new invention. Under patenting rules that India began implementing in 2005, only drugs invented after 1995 are eligible for patent protection.

Novartis says it is “reviewing the decision and will look at the various options available.” Gleevec, a company spokeswoman says, already enjoys patent protection in 40 countries. “We believe the same should be the case in India,” she says. Ever since the legal battle over the Gleevec patent began in India, the case has been more about principles than money. Novartis claims it has been supplying Gleevec free of charge to 11,000 Indian patients who could otherwise not afford it and that only 1% of the patients who take the drug in India actually pay for it. Gleevec is one of the most effective drugs for treating chronic myeloid leukemia.

WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG

7

JULY 13, 2009

Health activists such as Doctors Without Borders and India’s Cancer Patient Aid Association see the Gleevec case in terms of the impact it could have on drug pricing. A win for Novartis would force India’s generic pharmaceutical companies to stop producing and exporting their own versions of Gleevec and, more important, dissuade them from launching generic versions of other drugs in the future. A Doctors Without Borders spokesman tells C&EN that the group is still reviewing the latest decision. “We feel it is not a full victory,” he says.—JEAN-FRANÇOIS TREMBLAY