At present, domestic generic drugs of Gleevec (imatinib) have been released, but the price is not very cheap. Most leukemia patients use the generic Gleevec drug produced by the Indian company NATCO. The price of Indian Gleevec is low, which saves leukemia patients a lot of treatment costs and ensures the therapeutic effect. It is the best drug for all Gleevec. The most cost-effective among generic drugs.
Why is the Indian imitation Gleevec (imatinib) so cheap? The research and development of the original drug Gleevec (imatinib) often takes more than ten years and huge capital investment. New drugs After research and development, the cost will naturally be passed on to the price of the drug. The patent protection period for original research drugs is generally 20 years. After the patent protection expires, pharmaceutical companies can imitate the drugs. During the patent protection period, original drugs are expensive, and the average price of generic drugs is only 20% to 40% of that of original drugs, with even greater differences among individual drugs.
The Indian Patent Law stipulates that compulsory license applies when the public’s reasonable demand for the patented invention has not been met, or the public cannot obtain the patented invention at a reasonable and affordable price, or the patented invention has not been When used within the territory of India. In other words, high-priced drugs that the public cannot afford can be directly copied regardless of whether they have passed the patent protection period. That is why India's Gleevec (imatinib) can be so cheap