The Hindu (National) ·
Exhorbitant price of patented life-saving medicines: Kerala HC reserves verdict
Kerala HC reserves verdict on exorbitant prices of patented life-saving medicines, addressing public interest and cancer patients' needs.
The Kerala High Court has reserved its verdict in a suo motu case regarding the exorbitant price of patented life-saving medicines.
A petition in this regard had initially been filed by a patient diagnosed with breast cancer. She was taking Ribociclib for her condition, but had passed away while the case was pending before the court. She had sought directives to the government to take over the medication’s patent and make it available at the lowest price possible. The court then took up the matter suo motu, considering the larger public interest.
It also allowed a breast cancer patient from Malappuram to be impleaded in a petition considering the exorbitant price of life-saving breast cancer medication. The High Court had earlier sought expert opinion on whether a cheaper drug that was no longer under patent, and was locally manufactured, can be used as a substitute for treating breast cancer.
The amicus curiae in the case had submitted that the clinical and toxicological profiles of the two drugs were different and that they should not be substituted.
Published - September 17, 2026 08:58 pm IST