The cost of drugs for grave illnesses has gone through the roof, and the Indian Patent Office (IPO) has reportedly been granting patents not just for minor tweaks on pre-existing drugs but also without proper scrutiny.

Patents for trivial improvements on drugs, though statutorily barred, are routinely granted.

Pharmaceutical companies commonly used legal argument, as opposed to demonstrating proof of therapeutic efficacy, to overcome anti-evergreening objections

Global innovation and intellectual property rights lobbies often castigate India for its weak intellectual property framework that fails to recognise innovation and grant patents.

Majority of pharmaceutical drug patents granted by India might have skipped elaborate scrutiny, an analysis of patent grants by a team of researchers and patent lawyers reveals.