NEW DELHI: Pained by the unfortunate demise of a cancer patient awaiting Kerala HC’s order on her plea questioning exorbitant cost of life-saving medicines, the Supreme Court Friday took suo motu cognisance of both issues impacting right to life – plight of patients who cannot afford essential life-saving drugs and the judicial expediency in such cases.Initiating proceedings on a representation sent by conveners of the Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment – Jyotsna Singh and K M Gopakumar, which was reported by TOI on July 11, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said while the Kerala HC will decide the case before it, the apex court will decide the larger issue.Before seeking a response from the Union govt on the issue of exorbitant price of patented drugs for treating cancer and similar difficult-to-cure diseases, the bench expressed its displeasure over the delay in the HC, which was approached by the woman suffering from metastatic breast cancer for access to the drug Ribociclib in 2022.The woman had approached the HC seeking a direction to the Centre to exercise its powers under Section 100 of the Patents Act, 1970, by granting a Govt Use License to facilitate the manufacture of generic version of Ribociclin at an affordable price.Section 100 empowers the central govt, and any person authorised by it, to use a patented invention for governmental purposes in furtherance of public interest, including the protection of public health. The bench said it is unfortunate that the matter was listed multiple times between June 2, 2022 and Sep 16, 2022, but the Centre declined to invoke its powers on the ground that prevailing circumstances did not disclose any ‘national urgency’ warranting such intervention.
