India Court Sets Aside Rejection of Gilead Application for Sovaldi Patent

摘要

The Delhi High Court on Jan. 30 set aside an order of the Indian Patent Office rejecting Gilead Pharmasset Inc.'s application for a patent on the free base compound sofosbuvir, the blockbuster Hepatitis C drug it sells as Sovaldi. In a writ petition filed by Gilead, the court held that the petitioner had been denied natural justice as the Patent Office had failed to give it a chance to counter the objections raised in two pre-grant opposition applications, as it is required to do under section 25 of the Indian Patents Act, 1970.