P.H. Kurian Dies at 67: The IAS Officer Behind India’s Landmark Nexavar Cancer Drug Patent Ruling That Made Global Impact

By Akanksha 

P.H. Kurian was born in 1959 into an agricultural family. After earning a degree in Chemistry, he pursued academic research at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru before deciding to join the civil service.

During his early years as a civil servant, he worked as the District Collector of Idukki and Kottayam, and a sub-collector in Pala and Palakkad. 

P.H. Kurian, on March 2012 — his final day — as India’s Controller General as Patents, Designs and Trademarks, issued a 68 page ruling that changed the global merging of intellectual property and public health. 

The ruling allowed India’s first ever mandatory license under section 84 of the Indian Patents Act — allowing any person interested to request authorization to use a patented invention without the consent of the patent holder — allowing common manufacture of essential medicine, and providing a worldwide standard for patient access. 

Also Read: Sharing Vaccine Intellectual Property with the Global Community could Save Millions of Lives

Why Did Natco Pharma Seek a Compulsory License for Nexavar? 

The conflict focused on sorafenib tosylate (marketed as Nexaver by a big German Pharmaceutical company, Bayer AG). The drug is used to increase survival in patients with advanced kidney and liver cancers, and to slow disease progression. Bayer held a limited patent in India and charged around ₹ 2.8 lakhs (roughly ₹ 2,50,428 to ₹  2,84,000) for a month’s treatment (120 tablets). 

An unbranded pharmaceutical manufacturer, Nacto Pharma, sought the patent controller, demonstrating that they could produce and supply the exact monthly treatment at just ₹ 8,800, reducing the cost by around 97%.  Natco Pharma’s case depended on the three constitutional foundations under Section 84:

1. Bayer supplied the drug to only around 2% of the 88,000 patients in India who needed the medicine, leading to unfulfilled demand. 

2. The pricing of the medicine made it out of reach for ordinary citizens in India — a country with limited public health insurance infrastructure — making it inaccessible to the general public. 

3. The drug was not being manufactured commercially in India, making patients depend on minimal imports. 

Also Read: Cancer Vaccine's Promising Results for Advanced Kidney Cancer

What Was P.H. Kurian’s Role in the Nexavar Case?

Kurian was the first IAS officer to head the India Patent Office, appointed in 2009. He had a reputation for productivity by maintaining strict deadlines and clearing massive backlogs. 

Kurian heard 18 hours of arguments over the span of 3 days while hearing the Nexaver case. He reviewed important international case law along with public health affidavits, including a proof that exposed serious flaws in Bayer’s claimed $1.8 billion in R&D costs (filed by Jamie Love, the founder of KEI). 

In his March 2012 order, Kurian approved that all legal grounds for a compulsory license were fulfilled: 

1. The exclusive rights over pricing were provided for public availability at a fair price, and to meet the demand. 

2. Examining Indian Patent law beside the Paris Convention and the TRIPS Agreement, Kurian managed the constitutional requirements for a patent to be “worked in the territory of India”. It suggests domestic manufacture to a reasonable extent, not just importing in small quantities. 

3. Bayer’s dependence was rejected on the basis of discriminatory patient schemes. Kurian suggested that a working intervention on a commercial scale could not be replaced by voluntary charity. 

What Were the Terms of Natco Pharma’s Nexavar License? 

1. Natco Pharma got a non-exclusive, non-assignable license to manufacture and sell Sorafenib tosylate within India up until 2021, when the patent expired. 

2. Natco Pharma agreed to provide free supplies to 600 needy patients every year and was limited to charging only ₹ 8,800 per month.  

3. To ensure the patent holder kept a reasonable commercial benefit, Kurian maintained the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) standard, ordering Natco to pay Bayer a 6% quarterly royalty on net sales. 

Bayer’s Legal Challenge to the Nexavar Compulsory License

The ruling led to an immediate international reaction. The United States detecting a threat to pharmaceutical profit margins put India on its trade "Priority Watch List”. An action India’s Commerce Ministry rejected as “unilateral, unfortunate, and unjustified.”

Bayer launched aggressive legal actions: 

1. February 2013 : The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), headed by Justice Prabha Sreedharan, supported Kurian’s decision. It declared that compulsory licensing was justified to guarantee affordable access. 

2. Final Apex Verdict : The Supreme Court of India  rejected Bayer’s Special Leave Petition, maintaining the historical order fully intact. The bench consisted of Justice A.K. Goel, and Justice R.F. Nariman

P.H. Kurian worked for forty years, as an important Kerala-based IAS officer. He also served as the executive vice president of the Science and Technology Department, in 2018.  He led important e-governance reforms, the Akshaya digital network — provided a digital service delivery platform — and state IT start-up initiatives.  He was involved in the development of the state's IT start-ups policy. He passed away at the age of 67 in August 2026 in Thiruvananthapuram. 

The March 2012 order, still remains to be his greatest accomplishment amongst his other contributions. His order is identified as a model implementation of TRIPS flexibilities. It suggested that life-saving medication can be considered as an accessible public good rather than just an expensive entity.

(Rh/APC/MSM)