Natco Pharma
The oncology generics company at the centre of India's two landmark patent fights: the first compulsory licence, for sorafenib in 2012, and the Supreme Court's 2013 refusal of Novartis's imatinib patent.
Overview
Natco Pharma was founded in 1981 by V. C. Nannapaneni in Hyderabad and built its name on branded oncology generics for the Indian market, including one of the first generic imatinibs (Veenat) sold when India did not yet grant product patents. In March 2012 the Indian Patent Office granted Natco the country's first compulsory licence, for Bayer's sorafenib (Nexavar), at a price of about 8,800 rupees a month against Bayer's 280,000 rupees, with a royalty later set at 7% on appeal. On 1 April 2013 the Supreme Court upheld the refusal of Novartis's patent on the beta-crystalline form of imatinib mesylate under section 3(d) of the Patents Act, keeping generic imatinib on the market at a small fraction of the Glivec price. Natco later became a significant US generics player (lenalidomide under a volume-limited settlement from March 2022, pomalidomide) and in 2025 bought a 35.75% stake in South Africa's Adcock Ingram.
Scorecard
All companies- approved products +24
- targets +6
- modalities +4
- regions +7
- registry trials +30
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A thalidomide descendant that switches on the cell's protein-disposal system against two myeloma survival factors, and is the backbone of myeloma maintenance and many lymphoma regimens.
The third-generation thalidomide analogue for myeloma that has failed lenalidomide, and since 2020 the first new drug for Kaposi sarcoma in two decades.
Pages like this
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