The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with the help of India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), dug out formulations from ancient Ayurveda and Unani texts, like ‘Cakradattah’, ‘Bhaisajya Ratnavali’, ‘Kitaab-al-Haawi-fil-Tibb’ and ‘Qaraabaadeen Azam wa Akmal’, dating back to the 9th century, to show that both ‘pudina’ and ‘kalamegha’ have been widely used in India since ages for influenza and fever.
Following this, the European Patent Office (EPO) on June 10 cancelled the decision to grant patent to Livzon, a major Chinese pharmaceutical company, on the medicinal properties of pudina and kalamegha for treating bird flu.
It all began when Livzon, on January 19, 2007 filed a patent application at EPO claiming usefulness of pudina and kalamegha for the treatment of bird flu to be novel. Impressed with the data, EPO decided to grant patent to Livzon on February 25, 2010.
However, on April 27, director of TKDL Dr V K Gupta shot off a letter to the EPO informing the examiners that the medicinal properties of pudina and kalamegha have been long known in the Indian systems of traditional medicine.
Following the letter, the EPO set up a three-member panel to study the evidences and on the basis of the panel ‘s report decided to cancel the Chinese patent.TKDL is a collaborative project between CSIR and Union health ministry.
In 2000, a TKDL expert group estimated that about 2,000 wrong patents concerning Indian systems of medicine were being granted every year.
Ayurveda Wars Chinese pharma firm Livzon seeks patent on pudina and kalamegha to treat bird flu
CSIR produces evidence of their use in India dating back to 9th century
On June 10, European Patent Office cancels decision to grant patent based on evidence from India
