Date:04/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/04/stories/2008120460350600.htm

Karnataka

They are positively happy

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: The landmark judgment by a Madras High Court Bench on Tuesday setting aside the patent granted to Roche for a drug Valganciclovir, which treats an opportunistic eye infection that affects people living with HIV, was welcomed by Karnataka Network of People Living with HIV (KNP+) here on Wednesday.

The judgment was delivered on Tuesday in a petition filed by the Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS (INP+) and Tamil Nadu Networking People with HIV/AIDS (TNNP+), who had challenged the Indian Patent Office’s decision to grant a patent without hearing the pre-grant opposition filed by them in July 2006.