E-DRUG: AP-groups critical of India on patent laws
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Associated Press
Groups Critical of India on Patent Laws
03.21.2005, 10:32 AM
Indian and international aid groups on Monday slammed a proposed overhaul
of the country's patent laws, saying it would end production of cheap
generic drugs and threaten the survival of cancer and AIDS patients in the
developing world.
India's government on Friday introduced legislation that would tighten
patent laws to bring them in line with World Trade Organization rules. The
bill will be debated in Parliament in the coming weeks to meet a WTO
deadline of early 2005 for the changes.
"The life and health of hundreds of thousands of people globally depends on
decisions taken in India this week," Ellen 't Hoen of the Paris-based
medical aid group Doctors Without Borders told reporters in Bombay.
Hoen said some 50 percent of 700,000 HIV patients taking antiretroviral
medicines in developing countries rely on Indian generic drugs.
India's pharmaceutical industry is worth US$5 billion (euro3.7 billion)
annually and the country is among several, including Brazil and Thailand,
that make cheap generic drugs. Indian companies supply low-cost AIDS drugs
to Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The monthly cost of a generic AIDS drug cocktail is about US$30 (euro22),
compared to US$500-US$750 (euro370-euro555) for drugs sold by European and
American pharmaceutical giants.
India, with 5.1 million reported cases of HIV infections, has the
second-biggest number in the world after South Africa. About 40 million
people worldwide are infected with the AIDS virus, and 5 million new cases
are recorded annually.
"We've fought so hard to get people on treatment. This bill is the greatest
threat to global public health," said Gregg Gonsalves, director of
treatment and prevention advocacy of New York's Gay Men's Health Crisis.
"Hundreds of thousands in Asia, Africa and Latin America who take Indian
antiretroviral drugs will be affected. It will also raise drug prices in
India."
India's pharmaceutical industry employs tens of thousands of people and
manufactures and sells drugs at 7 percent to 10 percent the cost in the
West, which helps the nearly 400 million Indians who live on less than a
dollar a day.
Critics say the proposed law will boost drug prices, and that foreign
companies will take over the pharmaceutical industry as smaller domestic
makers go under. Global drug makers say the new bill will attract foreign
investment and encourage multinational drug companies to outsource research
work to India.