India drug sector says TPP will raise prices

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India drug sector says TPP will raise prices
An employee of Biocon Ltd works inside the company's research and development centre in Bengaluru, India

New Delhi - Countries from the United States to Africa rely on India as a supplier of cheap medicines, earning it the "pharmacy to the world" nickname.

By Reuters

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Published: Sat 17 Oct 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Sun 18 Oct 2015, 9:43 AM

Leaders of India's $15 billion pharmaceuticals industry, a major supplier of affordable generics to the world, have joined public health activists in criticising a new US-led trade deal they say will delay the arrival of new cheap drugs.
The impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) struck last week between 12 nations, which include the United States but not India, is still being studied by Indian drug makers. But in initial comments, industry executives said provisions in the deal that shield new drug data from competitors would hurt their business in those nations.
"The generics decline will be discernible from the end of 2017," said D.G. Shah, secretary general of an industry group representing some of India's top drug makers, including Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Dr Reddy's Laboratories.
Countries from the United States to Africa rely on India as a supplier of cheap medicines, earning it the "pharmacy to the world" nickname.
Other critics of the TPP deal, including advocacy groups such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, say it will drive up the price of medicines around the world in the long term. US Democratic party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton weighed in last week, warning the deal seemed to put the interests of big US drug companies ahead of patients.
Jagdish Bhagwati, a professor of economics and law at Columbia University, considered one of the world's leading trade economists, said the deal was part of a trend to include trade-unrelated features on labour and intellectual property into trade deals, at the behest of US lobbies. "TPP is a model of such behaviour and deplorable architecture," he said.
The deal, a central tenet of US President Barack Obama's focus on Asia, is pending ratification by member countries and approval by the US Congress.
Under current global rules drug manufacturers can sell products they develop exclusively for at least 20 years, after which generic manufacturers can produce cheaper copies.
Citing details leaked by Wikileaks, as the text has not been formally released, Shah said TPP sought to extend patent life, make it easier to 'evergreen' patents, and abolish rules allowing generic companies to undertake product development during the life of the patent.
"These and many other provisions will delay the launch of generics in the USA and other TPP member states," said Shah, who heads the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.
One focus of criticism is a clause in the deal that would allow companies in member countries to keep clinical data on new biological drugs hidden for up to eight years. Since some TPP countries do not currently afford such protections, the clause would effectively delay the launch of cheaper forms, or biosimilars, of such drugs by other companies, said Judit Rius Sanjuan, a legal policy adviser for MSF in New York.

Many countries rely on India as a supplier of cheap medicines, earning it the ‘pharmacy to the world’ nickname. — Reuters
Many countries rely on India as a supplier of cheap medicines, earning it the ‘pharmacy to the world’ nickname. — Reuters
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George Washington on one US dollar with sad expression

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