India has faced a barrage of criticism and pressure from the US and the European Union, as well as from multinational pharmaceutical firms over its intellectual property policies. The country was even ‘black listed’ by the US in 2013 due to concerns about intellectual property rights [1].

Although India changed its laws in 2005 to comply with the World Trade Organization’s mandates for pharmaceutical patenting, concerns still remain that the country’s policies are not protecting innovation. The concerns stem from the fact that the country has a law that limits the granting of secondary and unnecessary patents. This means that companies are not granted patents for obvious modifications of existing products, but are only granted patents for truly innovative new medicines. This is in contrast to other countries, where multiple patents relating to different aspects of the same medicine are allowed.

Medecins Sans Frontieres(MSF) has defended the country, calling it the ‘pharmacy of the developing world’, adding that India plays an important role in supplying affordable medicines to people worldwide. Just one example of the importance of the country is the fact that around 90% of HIV medicines for the 11 million people on HIV treatment in developing countries are sourced in India.

MSF has urged India’s Prime Minister to ‘stand firm in upholding India’s intellectual property policies’. MSF sees the need for a bold new vision for biomedical innovation where open access to scientific knowledge is promoted and where research and development investments are not linked to the price of products, thereby making medicines affordable for all who need them.

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Reference
1.   GaBI Online - Generics and Biosimilars Initiative. US places India on IP black list [www.gabionline.net]. Mol, Belgium: Pro Pharma Communications International; [cited 2014 Nov 7]. Available from: www.gabionline.net/Reports/US-places-India-on-IP-black-list 

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