India's Supreme Court denies Novartis patent

India's top court dismissed Swiss drugmaker Novartis' appeal to overturn a rejection of patent protection for a new version of its cancer drug Glivec. The ruling sets a benchmark for intellectual property cases in India, which has high standards for patent protection, especially for new versions of existing drugs. It does not bode well for other Western pharmaceutical firms engaged in patent disputes in India, including Pfizer and Roche Holding. The decision is seen as a victory for local makers of cheap generics suppling India's rapidly growing $14 billion-a-year drugs market and those elsewhere in the developing world.