For further information, contact:
Anand Grover: anandgrover@gmail.com
Dinesh Abrol: dinesh.abrol@gmail.com
Following Prime Minister Modi’s statement at the US-India Business Council yesterday that “India is ready to accept suggestions made by a joint working group with the United States on intellectual property rights,” patient and civil society groups have responded:
“It is now clear that the Indian government is willing to sell the interests of Indian patients in order to please US based pharmaceutical companies. If this is the outcome of President Obama’s visit then the fears of Indian patient groups and civil society that this visit would adversely affect the health of millions are more than realised,” said Amit Sengupta, Convenor, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan.
“There are indications that the Indian government is changing its stand and taking a favourable view of the US-demand for data exclusivity and patent linkage. What is most troubling is that this move would only benefit foreign MNCs, leaving Indian generics in the lurch and risking the health of millions of patients in the bargain”, said Anand Grover, Director, Lawyers Collective.
Vikas Ahuja of the Delhi Network of Positive People added “Indian generic medicines are the life-line of millions of patients around the world. US pharmaceutical companies are threatened by our industry and now the Indian government also seems to be bending to their will. Access to affordable generics could be under serious threat if the US companies have their way”
“Acche Din for US companies, Modi is selling out on IPR” says Dinesh Abrol, Convenor, National Working Group on Patent Laws. “India is abandoning its well-considered stand that Indian IP policy and laws are TRIPS-compliant and have been devised to balance the public interest and innovators’ rights. It was a grave mistake to agree to discussing intellectual property as part of a bilateral setup – the US-India Working Group on IP is turning out to be an instrument for the protection of US companies. It is grossly troubling that our Indian CEOs were silent when the US government was pushing its IP practices as best practices for India to follow, when they have already failed to promote genuine innovation in pharmaceuticals in the US.”
“It is bizarre that the Indian government is inviting US inputs on the draft IPR policy. Why don’t we just hand it over to the US pharma industry, the ghost writers behind every US complaint report against India, such as the USITC or Special 301 reports, to track-changes? The US will leave no opportunity to dismantle India’s pro-health laws and insert stronger IP barriers that will strangle generic supply. It would be a death-trap for cancer patients who will be denied affordable treatment into the forseeable future” commented Kalyani Menon-Sen, Coordinator, Campaign for Affordable Trastuzumab.
