Patent defeat in India is key win for generic drugs; Hyperactiviy diagnosis on rise in US; South Africa not quite a Bric

1 Patent defeat in India is key win for generic drugs (Gardiner Harris in The New York Times) The Indian Supreme Court rejected a Swiss drug maker’s patent application for a major cancer drug in a landmark ruling that will allow poor patients continued access to many of the world’s best drugs, at least for a while. The ruling allows Indian makers of generic drugs to continue making copycat versions of the Novartis drug Gleevec — spelled Glivec in some markets, like Europe — which can have a seemingly miraculous effect on some forms of leukemia.

But the ruling’s effect will be felt well beyond the limited number of patients in India who need Gleevec, because it will help maintain India’s role as the world’s most important provider of inexpensive medicines, which is critical in the global fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Gleevec can cost as much as $70,000 per year, while Indian generic versions cost about $2,500 year.

“The judgment in the Novartis case is a victory for patients both in India and around the world,” Dr. Yusuf K. Hamied, chairman of Cipla, an Indian generic drug giant, wrote in an e-mail. “India, being the pharmacy capital of the world, can continue to produce affordable, high-quality medicines without the threat of patents for minor modifications of known medicines.” 

The ruling is a landmark in one of the most important economic battles of the 21st century, in which rich nations that increasingly rely on the creation of idea-based products like computer programs and medicines try to compel mostly poor countries that make physical things like clothing and toys to pay for their ideas. 

While the goods made by poor countries cannot easily be shared or stolen, the ideas that power the economies of rich countries can be. So rich countries have insisted that poor countries give some of the world’s most profitable companies government-sanctioned monopolies for what the rich nations see as innovative ideas. But a few of these poorer countries — particularly India, Brazil and China — have begun to question the price they must pay for these idea-based products and whether paying such prices does them any good. India exports about $10 billion worth of generic medicine every year, more than any other country. Its home drug market is dominated almost entirely by generics. 

2 Hyperactivity diagnosis on rise in US (Alan Schwarz & Sarah Cohen in The New York Times) Nearly one in five high school age boys in the US and 11% of school-age children over all have received a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to new data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These rates reflect a marked rise over the last decade and could fuel growing concern among many doctors that the A.D.H.D. diagnosis and its medication are overused in American children. 

The figures showed that an estimated 6.4 million children ages 4 through 17 had received an A.D.H.D. diagnosis at some point in their lives, a 16% increase since 2007 and a 53% rise in the past decade. “Those are astronomical numbers. I’m floored,” said Dr. William Graf, a pediatric neurologist. He added, “Mild symptoms are being diagnosed so readily, which goes well beyond the disorder and beyond the zone of ambiguity to pure enhancement of children who are otherwise healthy.” 

A.D.H.D. has historically been estimated to affect 3-7% of children. The disorder has no definitive test and is determined only by speaking extensively with patients, parents and teachers, and ruling out other possible causes — a subjective process that is often skipped under time constraints and pressure from parents. It is considered a chronic condition that is often carried into adulthood. 

3 South Africa not quite a Bric? (David Smith in The Guardian) The "big five" of the developing world, China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, flag-bearers of a new world order known as the Brics, met recently on African soil for the first time, but doubts linger over whether the host is quite deserving of its place at the top table. South Africa is the newest and smallest member of what used to be the Bric. Its population is 50 million compared to China's more than 1 billion, and its GDP ranked only 28th in the world. By contrast China is 2nd, Brazil 6th, Russia 9th and India 10th. South Africa accounts for just 2.5% of the Brics' GDP, according to Standard Bank research.

Even within Africa, South Africa's growth – wracked by high unemployment and industrial unrest – is sluggish compared to many of its neighbours, and its crown as the continent's biggest economy is under threat from Nigeria. A year ago Jim O'Neill, the global chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management who coined the term "Bric", said: "It's just wrong. South Africa doesn’t belong in Brics. South Africa has too small an economy. There are not many similarities with the other four countries in terms of the numbers. In fact, South Africa's inclusion has somewhat weakened the group's power."

He added: "South Africa has to stop feeling sorry for itself and be doers instead of talkers. When your country first introduced inflation targeting about 15 years ago and I sat with some of the policymakers, I was big on South Africa. I'm not now. Over the past few years South Africa has lost its focus."