GSK WITHDRAWS INDIAN PATENT APPLICATION FOR COMBIVIR

UK-based drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has withdrawn its patent application in India for its HIV drug Combivir.

The company denied it withdrew the application under pressure from activists, who had protested at an Indian patent office.

The company had filed for a patent for Combivir, which is a combination of Epivir and Retrovir, nearly eight years ago. However, the Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS and the Manipur Network of Positive People filed a pre-grant opposition stating the drug was not a new invention.

Combivir is a widely used fixed-dose combination and is a preferred drug of many international organizations.