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companiesCompany
Natco Pharma
The oncology generics company at the centre of India's two landmark patent fights: the first compulsory licence, for sorafenib in 2012, and the Supreme Court's 2013 refusal of Novartis's imatinib patent.
Overview
Natco Pharma was founded in 1981 by V. C. Nannapaneni in Hyderabad and built its name on branded oncology generics for the Indian market, including one of the first generic imatinibs (Veenat) sold when India did not yet grant product patents. In March 2012 the Indian Patent Office granted Natco the country's first compulsory licence, for Bayer's sorafenib (Nexavar), at a price of about 8,800 rupees a month against Bayer's 280,000 rupees, with a royalty later set at 7% on appeal. On 1 April 2013 the Supreme Court upheld the refusal of Novartis's patent on the beta-crystalline form of imatinib mesylate under section 3(d) of the Patents Act, keeping generic imatinib on the market at a small fraction of the Glivec price. Natco later became a significant US generics player (lenalidomide under a volume-limited settlement from March 2022, pomalidomide) and in 2025 bought a 35.75% stake in South Africa's Adcock Ingram.
Headquarters
Hyderabad, IN
Scorecard
All companies#44of 1244 companies, score 75
- approved products +24
- targets +10
- modalities +4
- regions +7
- registry trials +30
4 approved, 0 in phase 3, 0 earlier, 5 targets, 2,285 registry studies. Formula on the scorecards page.
Type
Large pharma · NATCOPHARM.NS
Stage
Public
Website
Founded
1981
ApprovedSmall-molecule kinase inhibitor (BCR-ABL, KIT, PDGFRA)
Imatinib · Gleevec
The drug that started the targeted therapy era in 2001, turning chronic myeloid leukaemia into a manageable condition with near-normal life expectancy.
ApprovedSmall-molecule multi-kinase inhibitor (VEGFR, PDGFR, RAF)
Sorafenib · Nexavar
The first drug ever to extend life in advanced liver cancer (2007), now mostly a comparator arm that newer combinations are measured against.
ApprovedImmunomodulatory drug (cereblon E3 ligase modulator)
Lenalidomide · Revlimid
Lenalidomide is a thalidomide descendant that glues the proteins IKZF1 and IKZF3 to cereblon so the cell destroys them, killing plasma cells and rousing T cells. It is the backbone of myeloma treatment and maintenance, also used in mantle cell and follicular lymphoma, and generic since 2022.
ApprovedOral cereblon E3 ligase modulator (IMiD)
Pomalidomide · Pomalyst / Imnovid
The third-generation thalidomide analogue for myeloma that has failed lenalidomide, and since 2020 the first new drug for Kaposi sarcoma in two decades.
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fronts
technologies
drugs
ApprovedSmall-molecule kinase inhibitor (BCR-ABL, KIT, PDGFRA)
Imatinib · Gleevec
ApprovedImmunomodulatory drug (cereblon E3 ligase modulator)
Lenalidomide · Revlimid
ApprovedOral cereblon E3 ligase modulator (IMiD)
Pomalidomide · Pomalyst / Imnovid
ApprovedSmall-molecule multi-kinase inhibitor (VEGFR, PDGFR, RAF)
Sorafenib · Nexavar