Novartis boss: Drugs investment 'will cease in India'

The head of Novartis India, Ranjit Shahani, has said the company was "disappointed" that India's Supreme Court refused to grant a patent for an updated version of its cancer drug Glivec.

Speaking to the BBC's India Business Report, Mr Shahani said that his company would not invest drugs research and development in India in the future, and suggested that other pharmaceutical firms would follow suit.

The drugmaker was denied a patent on the grounds that the new version of Glivec was only slightly different from the old.

The decision means generic drugmakers can continue to sell copies of the drug at a lower price in India.