A BILL before the Indian parliament is threatening the supply of cheap drugs to the world鈥檚 poorest countries, prompting protests in Nairobi and other African cities.
As it stands, Indian law does not recognise patents on drugs 鈥� only on the processes used to make them. The country leads the world in making cheap generic drugs. Local companies helped slash the price of HIV treatment forty-fold and today supply half the 700,000 people in developing countries who take the anti-HIV drugs, according to medical charity M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res.
As a member of the World Trade Organization, India has to start recognising patents on drugs this year. But WTO rules would let India keep making generics under a procedure called compulsory licensing, and to export them to the poorest countries 鈥� meaning most of Africa.
Advertisement
鈥淚ndian firms want to sell expensive patented drugs to the country鈥檚 middle classes鈥�
But under pressure from the drug industry, including Indian companies that want to sell expensive patented drugs to the country鈥檚 300-million-strong middle class, the proposed Patents Bill is more stringent than the WTO requires. It would allow patent-holders to block compulsory licenses, and does not permit exports to poorer nations.
