Kerala High Court Rules Centre Can Use Patents For Affordable Medicines

The Kerala High Court has said the Union government may use a medicine’s patent to manufacture and sell the drug to the public on a non-commercial basis, including for underprivileged patients, when pricing raises access concerns.

Justice Harisankar V. Menon held on Monday (September 28, 2026) that the Centre should invoke the relevant provisions of the Patents Act, 1970, in cases where medicines manufactured on the basis of a patent are sold at an exorbitant price.

Court points to public-interest use of patents

The court said the government should collate data and decide whether a particular medicine is affordable.

If necessary, the government should use the patent in the public interest and notify the patent holder, the court said.

“The government is required to provide all necessary facilities to citizens to ensure access to healthcare, including access to life-saving treatment, as in the case at hand,” the court held.

The ruling came on a petition filed by a breast cancer patient.

She had been prescribed Ribociclib for her condition, and the medicine, at the time, cost around ₹75,000 per month for her.

The petition sought directions for the government to take over Ribociclib’s patent and make it available at the lowest price possible.

The petitioner passed away while the plea was pending.

The court then took up the matter considering the larger public interest.

Pharmaceutical companies opposed the plea

Pharmaceutical companies opposed the petition, stating that the Centre had already considered the matter of using Ribociclib’s patent.

They said the Centre did not find such use necessary because a cheaper alternative, Palbociclib, was already available in the market.

The judgment matters because the court linked the government’s healthcare obligations with access to life-saving treatment where patented medicines are priced beyond affordability, while directing attention to the Patents Act, 1970, as the legal route for public-interest intervention.

The report was published on September 28, 2026, at 12:21 pm IST.

Source: The Hindu