General Information

Imatinib mesylate was once knows as STI571 but is now sold by Novartis as "Gleevec" in the United States and as "Glivec" elsewhere. It is FDA-approved for two rare forms of cancer: chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Patients prescribed the drug typically take four 100mg capsulse a day.

• Novartis' website for Gleevec
• FDA's website for Gleevec
• National Cancer Institute's page on Gleevec
• Gleevec Resource Center put together by CML-Support
• Product Label contains prescribing information and results of the clinical trials submitted to the FDA for marketing approval.
• Novartis' contact person for Gleevec information is Gloria Stone: 973-781-5587.

Attempt for Compulsory License for Glivec in Korea

• Januaruy 30, 2002. HeeSeob NAM and SungHo PARK on behalf of People's Health Coalition for Equitable Society, Association of Physicians for Humanism, and Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society. Text of the request for a compulsory license.

• Life First Before Making a Profit! Cut the Price of Glivec!
• Korean legislation on compulsory licenses.
• CPTech Notes on Pharmaceutical Pricing Agreement Between U.S and Korea. The agreement comes after years of pressure from the U.S., and ties the price of drugs in Korea to the price of drugs in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Japan.
• March, 2003. Decision on the Request for Adjudication for the Grant of a Non-Exclusive License.
• February 6, 2003. Korean Leukemia patients arrested while trying to meet with Novartis.
• May 28, 2002. Affidavit of Jacques J. Gorlin, filed by the pharmaceutical industry.
• March 18, 2002. Glivec Coalition in South Korea. Petition to National Human Rights Committee.
• Januaruy 30, 2002. HeeSeob NAM and SungHo PARK on behalf of People's Health Coalition for Equitable Society, Association of Physicians for Humanism, and Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society. Text of the request for a compulsory license.
• July 2, 2001. Letter from US Commerce Secretary Don Evans to Korean Minister of Health and Welfare Kim Won-Gil threatening a trade dispute with Korea.
• News Stories:
  • August 5, 2002. Vincent Landon for SwissInfo.com. Pricing Dispute Leaves Patients Without Drugs.
  • August 4, 2002. Andrew Ward for the Financial Times. Novartis in warning over South Korea.

Sales

• July 22, 2002. Novartis announces results for the first half of 2002. In that time, Gleevec sales were $255 million (CHF 419 million).
• February 7, 2002. Novartis annouces its Financial Results for 2001. That year, sales of Gleevec totalled $153 million (CHF 257 million).
  • Annual Report.
  • Press release.
  • Associated Press. Novartis Profits Up 8%
• October 11, 2001. Novartis press release. Novartis maintains momentum in third quarter with 9-month Group sales up 11% in Swiss francs to CHF 23.7 billion.

Pricing

• Price of Glivec as of January 22, 2003: KRW 497,772 to 1,244,430 (about USD 415 to 1,037) per patient per month.

• Price quotes from various countries

  Country	Dosage/Quantity	Price in Local Currency	Exchange Rate to USD/Date	USD per 100mg Capsule	Source
  US	100mg/180 Capsules	USD $3,029.26	n.a.	$16.82	www.drugstore.com
  US	100mg/120 Capsules	USD $1968.00	n.a.	$16.40	Application for Korean Reimbursement Price Adjustment
  UK	100mg/120 Capsules	GBP 1,557.36	1.4275 on 11-17-2001	$18.53	The Pharmaceutical Journal
  UK	100mg/120 Capsules	GBP 1,442.01	1.5373 on 08-07-2002	$18.47	Application for Korean Reimbursement Price Adjustment
  Switzerland	100 mg/120 Capsules	CHF 3,600	0.6684 on 08-07-2002	$20.05	Application for Korean Reimbursement Price Adjustment
  Germany	100mg/120 Capsules	DEM 4,505.17	0.4981 on 08-07-2002	$18.70	Application for Korean Reimbursement Price Adjustment
  Italy	100mg/120 Capsules	ITL 4,000,000	0.0005 on 08-07-2002	$18.49	Application for Korean Reimbursement Price Adjustment
  Japan	100mg/120 Capsules	JPY 354,389.00	0.0083 on 08-07-2002	$25.35	Application for Korean Reimbursement Price Adjustment
  France	100mg/120 Capsules	FFR 16,440.00	0.1485 on 08-07-2002	$20.35	Application for Korean Reimbursement Price Adjustment
  Brazil	100mg/120 Capsules	USD 1,600	n.a.	$13.33	Brazilian government news website

• March 18, 2002. Glivec Coalition in South Korea. Petition to National Human Rights Committee.

• News Stories

  • July 28, 2003. Jamie Walker for the Australian. Cancer fight over the price of life.
  • September 12, 2002. Francesca Mold for the New Zealand Herald. Talking Contiues on 'Wonder Drug' Glivec.
  • August 21, 2002. BBC News. Cancer patient's VAT bill for drugs.
  • July 30, 2002. Ainsley Thompson for the New Zealand Herald. Price stops cancer drug.
  • July 1, 2002. Francesca Mold and Catherine Masters for the New Zealand Herald. Row over price of cancer drug angers patients.
  • April 28, 2002. Robyn Riley for the Sunday Herald Sun. $50,000 A Year to Stay Alive.
  • March 21, 2002. Jerome Burne for the Guardian. Can we afford the cure?
  • January 26, 2002. Steve Dow for the Sydney Morning Herald. Ill feelings as wealth overshadows health.
  • January 7, 2002. Francesca Mold and Catherine Masters for the New Zealand News. Row over price of cancer drug angers patients.
  • August 16, 2001. Mary-Anne Toy for The Age. (Australia) At $880 a week, cost of life too high for most.
  • August 15, 2001. Mary-Anne Toy for The Age. (Australia) Cancer 'magic bullets' approved, at a price.
  • December 1, 2002. People's Health Coalition for an Equitable Society press release. Leukemia Patients are dying because of the outrageously high drug price.

• September 22, 2003. James Love. Norvartis Outlays on R&D R&D For Glivec: Evidence suggests outlays are substantially below average costs estimated by Tufts University Study. (MS Word format)

• CPTech Document: A Note on Dr. Brian Druker's Involvement in the Research and Development of Gleevec.
• National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Discoveries Leading to FDA Approval of STI571/Gleevec.
• October 22, 2003. Arnold Relman for the Journal of the American Medical Association. Book review of Magic Cancer Bullet (which was co-authored by the CEO of Novartis).
• February 27, 2002. Novartis press release. New England Journal of Medicine Data Demonstrate Improved CML Response Rates With Gleevec(TM) (imatinib mesylate.
• May 16, 2001. Richard D. Klausner, M.D., Director of the National Cancer Institute. Testitmony before the House Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations on the 2002 budget.
• August 3, 2000. Oregon Health and Science University press release. Brian Drucker Recives $7.5 Million Leukemia Grant.
• January 5, 2000. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Leukemia Drug Heralds Molecularly Targeted Era.

• The Max Foundation page on GIPAP. (The Max Foundation has been hired by Novartis to administer the program.)
• July 3, 2005. Tee Shiao Eek for the Malaysia Star. Making treatment affordable.
• April 16, 2004. Joana Ramos for Cancer Resources & Advocacy. Letter on problems with eligibility for GIPAP in China.
• January 4, 2004. EPP News. Novartis modifies GIPAP with immediate effect.
• June 6, 2003. New India Press. Novartis stops donation of cancer drug to India.
• June 5, 2003. Stephanie Strom and Matt Fleischer-Black for the New York Times. Company's Pledge to Donate a Cancer Drug Is Falling Short.
• June 5, 2003. Stephanie Strom and Matt Fleischer-Black for the New York Times. Questions on Choice of Foundation for Drug Program.

• February 18, 2005. P. T. Jyothi Datta for the Hindu Business Line. Novartis' case may spark patent vs patient debate.
• February 16, 2005. Priha Ranjan Dash for the Times of India. Government puts Novartis cancer drug on notice.
• January 21, 2005. Hindu Business Line. Novartis Must Supply Patented Drugs.
• December 20, 2004. P.T. Jyothi Datta for the Hindu Business Line. Novartis' Glivec Story - A Sign of Things to Come?
• August 7, 2004. Affordable Medicines and Treatment Campaign. Cancer Patients Aid Association Challenges EMR on Gleevec.
• August 6, 2004. The Hindu. Supreme Court notice on price of cancer drug.
• January 24, 2004. P.T. Jyothi Datta for the Hindu Business Line. Exclusive marketing rights — Novartis gets stay against 6 firms.
• January 9, 2003. Ad Damodaran for the Financial Express. EMR For Glivec: A TRIPS-dictated ‘Cure’?
• December 10, 2003. Megha Lodha for Sify. Indian cos stand a good chance of winning against Novartis: Natco.
• November 12, 2003. Express Pharma Pulse. Novartis Receives EMR for Glivec.
• November 12, 2003. The Hindu Business Line. Natco to challenge grant of exclusive rights to Novartis cancer drug

• May, 2004. Med Ad News. Brand of the Year - Gleevec.
• May 2, 2004. Limb Jae-un for the Joongan Daily. Cancer patients turn to India, hoping for cure.
• April 6, 2004. Lisa Mitchell for the Age. Time in a bottle.
• January 23, 2004. Fiona Fleck for the New York Times. A Healthy Novartis Increases Stake in a Rival.
• September 2, 2003. Clive Cookson and Geoff Dyer in the Financial Times. A drugs deal for the world's poorest: now the fight over patents and cheap medicine is in middle-income countries.
• June 5, 2003. Stephanie Strom and Matt Fleischer-Black for the New York Times. Company's Pledge to Donate a Cancer Drug Is Falling Short.
• June 5, 2003. Stephanie Strom and Matt Fleischer-Black for the New York Times. Questions on Choice of Foundation for Drug Program.
• October 26, 2002. New Zealand Herald. Drug pushers -- the campaign for Glivec funding.
• October 2, 2002. New Zealand City Magazine. Provisional Glivec Agreement Reached.
• September 11, 2002. Mark Metherell and Julie Robotham for the Sydney Morning Herald. For $22 a month, Grandma can live.
• July 19, 2002. BBC. Woman wins right to cancer drug.
• July 2, 2002. Terry Jennings for the Washington Post. Trial By Gleevec.
• June 13, 2002. Ron Winslow for the Wall Street Journal. Excitement Around Gleevec Spurs New Cancer Drugs.
• May 21, 2002. Michael Lasalandra for the Boston Herald. Study: `Smart bomb' drug targets cancer.
• May 20, 2002. Marilynn Marchione for the Milwalkee Journal Sentinal. Success seen with stomach cancer drug.
• May 18, 2002. Limb Jae-un. Sent to ip-health by Hae-joo Chung. Glivec Debate Poses Vital Issues.
• May 14, 2002. David Firn and Nicholas Timmins for the Financial Times. Experts to block UK use of leukaemia treatment.
• February 28, 2002. David Firn for the Financial Times. Novartis boosted by Glivec cancer trial.
• February 10, 2002. Leo Lewis for the Independent. Novartis drug to spark revolution in treatment.
• January 7, 2002. Novartis press release. Early Positive Gleevec™ (imatinib mesylate)* Data in Newly Diagnosed Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) Study Prompt Major Protocol Changes.
• January 7, 2002. David Firn for the Financial Times. Novartis drug may benefit leukaemia patients.
• May 10, 2001. NCI's Plans & Priorities Newsletter. Making the Connections for a Targeted Cancer Treatment Takes Time and Perseverance.
• May 8, 2001. Nicholas Wade for the New York Times. Powerful Anti-Cancer Drug Emerges from Basic Biology.
• March 2, 2001. Oregon Health and Science University press release. FDA Receives Data on OHSU-Developed Leukemia Pill.
• September 11, 2000. HealthTalk. Interview with Dr. Brian Drucker.
• February 14 2000. Online chat on ABC News website.