Like bird flu, the temptation among governments to issue compulsory licenses appears to be spreading rapidly. Thailand is giving Merck, Sanofi-Aventis and Abbott fits over its decision to allow copycats of three popular meds. Apparently, India’s health minister likes the idea.

Anbumani Ramadoss warned Novartis that New Delhi could be forced to overrule patents and issue licences for firms to produce vital drugs, if deemed in the public interest. “India has not used compulsory licensing so far,” he intones. “So we shouldn’t be pushed towards that.”

His remarks come amid a mushrooming controversy over the drugmaker’s decision to challenge provisions of a patent law after India rejected a patent for a version of its Gleevec cancer drug. Novartis claims the law fails to follow World Trade Organization rules. The application was turned down because the drug was a new form of a known substance

But various groups, such as Doctors Without Borders, say a succesful challenge would prevent poorer patients from gaining access to low-cost generics. New Delhi is “very concerned” the challenge to local patent law could restrict the global supply of cheap AIDS drugs, says Ramadoss. Last week, the Madras High Court reserved its verdict, but Ramadoss isn’t waiting for a ruling. “We urge Novartis to desist from this and withdraw from this,” he says.

Such impatience doesn’t bode well. Unlike Thailand, the courts in India are being used to resolve the dispute, which is a better approach than the gun-to-your-head cajoling by the Thai military rulers. By threatening to act unilaterally, Ramadoss may well ignite the equivalent of a patent jihad. If so, US Trade Rep Susan Schwab is about to get a lot busier.

Full story in Reuters.[tags]Compulsory LIcensing, Generics, Gleevec, India, Novartis, Patents[/tags]