The German company last year approached the Intellectual Property Appellate Board after the local patent authority granted a "compulsory license" to Natco Pharma Ltd.

WSJ: India Rejects Bayer's Nexavar Plea

The appellate board, which is based in the southern city of Chennai, said the patent authority was right in allowing a compulsory license for Nexavar as Bayer hadn't priced the drug at "reasonably affordable" rates.

WSJ: India Rejects Bayer's Nexavar Plea

The patent authority's March 2012 order on Nexavar represented the first instance of a compulsory license being granted in the country.

WSJ: India Rejects Bayer's Nexavar Plea