Novartis Allows Generic Cancer Drug Licenses in World First (1)

Novartis AG agreed to allow generic drugmakers in seven middle-income nations to produce a leukemia treatment, the first time a voluntary license has been granted for a patented cancer drug as part of a public health initiative.

The oral drug, nilotinib, is used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia and may be made in Egypt, Guatemala, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tunisia, according to the Medicines Patent Pool, a United Nations-backed public health organization. Patents on the drug are either pending or in force in those countries.

“It’s not enormous in terms of the impact it’ll have, but it is ...