PATENT RIGHT AND ACCESS TO MEDICINES IN INDIA: RECONCILING INNOVATION WITH PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVES

AUTHOR – ISHANI, STUDENT AT AMITY INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED LEGAL STUDIES, AMITY UNIVERSITY, NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

BEST CITATION – ISHANI, PATENT RIGHT AND ACCESS TO MEDICINES IN INDIA: RECONCILING INNOVATION WITH PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVES, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (6) OF 2026, PG. 214-220, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

I. Abstract

Protection of patents and availability of medications has been one of the most important legal and legislative issues in India. Patent laws protect pharmaceutical discoveries by giving innovators exclusive rights to a unique drug for some period of time and a financial incentive to pursue research and development. But this exclusivity leads to high pricing that renders vital treatments expensive to the vulnerable segments of the population. The fundamental problem in a developing country like India, where the need for cheap health care is still huge, is how to strike a fair balance between the protection of intellectual property and the interests of public health.

India has built a unique and balanced system under the Patents Act, 1970 as amended in 2005 to meet the commitment under the TRIPS Agreement. The law provides for product patent for pharmaceuticals and forbids the misuse of monopoly power. Subsection 3(d) forbids evergreening or patenting of trivial variations of existing medications unless they show increased clinical efficacy. Section 84 on compulsory licensing also permits the manufacture of patented drugs without the approval of the patent owners if the products are sold at excessive costs or are not available to the public in sufficient quantities. They represent India’s wish to have patent law serve the cause of social progress, not only the private gains of business.

Judicial statements have also maintained the balance. In Novartis AG v Union of India, the Supreme Court ruled that only actual and substantial advances as envisaged under section 3(d) of the Patent Act are to be granted patent protection. India’s first compulsory licence in Bayer Corporation v. Natco Pharma Ltd led to a substantial fall in the price of a key anti-cancer drug. In the rulings it is said that right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be separated from the right to access healthcare.

Keywords : Access to Medicines, Compulsory Licensing, Evergreening,  Innovation, Patent Rights, Pharmaceutical Patents, Public Health, Section 3(d), TRIPS Agreement.