Mumbai, 23 March 2023 – Today, the 2019 patent challenge by two tuberculosis (TB) survivors, Nandita Venkatesan and Phumeza Tisile, was successful: the Indian Patent Office rejected the US pharmaceutical corporation Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) attempt to extend its monopoly in India on the TB drug bedaquiline beyond the primary patent’s expiry this July. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) welcomed this as a significant step toward increasing access to the lifesaving TB drug.

More info at: https://msfaccess.org/msf-applauds-indian-patent-offices-rejection-jjs-attempt-extend-monopoly-lifesaving-tb-drug