E-DRUG: MSF: EU/India trade deal could cut medicines lifeline
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As people living with HIV take to the streets in Delhi today, Medecins Sans
Frontieres urges the European Union not to push for harmful intellectual
property provisions in the EU/India Free Trade Agreement currently under
negotiation and discussion at the EU/India Summit, starting today in
Delhi.
Please find press release below, issued today:
EU-INDIA TRADE DEAL COULD CUT MEDICINES LIFELINE
FOR PEOPLE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Nearly 2,000 People Living With HIV Rally in Streets of Delhi as EU-India Summit Starts
EUROPE! HANDS OFF OUR MEDICINES!
NEW DELHI, 10 February 2012
As India and the European Union meet for a Summit in New Delhi today to iron out the differences over a Free Trade Agreement, nearly two thousand people living with HIV and the international
medical humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) protested in the streets of the Indian capital to warn that remaining harmful provisions in the agreement could have a severely negative impact on access to affordable medicine for people in developing countries.
'We have watched too many people die in places where we work because the
medicines they need are too expensive,' said Dr. Unni Karunakara,
International President of MSF. 'We cannot allow this trade deal to shut
down the pharmacy of the developing world.'
India produces quality affordable generic medicines that governments, UN
agencies and MSF rely on to treat people across the developing world.
Thanks to competition among generics producers in India, the price of
first-line HIV medicines has dropped by more than 99%, from US$10,000 per
person per year in 2000 to roughly $150 today. This significant price
decrease has supported the massive expansion of HIV treatment worldwide:
more than 80% of the HIV medicines used to treat 6.6 million people in
developing countries come from Indian producers, and 90% of pediatric HIV
medicines are Indian-produced. MSF and other treatment providers also use
Indian generic medicines to treat other diseases and conditions.
'Whether we get to live or die should not be up to trade negotiators,' said
Mundrika Gahlot of the Delhi Network of Positive People. 'We're all here
today with one clear message to India and the EU: Don't trade away our
lives.'
Existing trade rules already limit the possibility of making generic
versions of new medicines, but the EU-India FTA threatens to make this
situation even worse, by creating new barriers. At the Summit, both sides
are set to announce 'trade offs' in the negotiations, in which the EU has
been pressuring India to agree to several measures that will affect the
production, registration and distribution of affordable generic medicines.
MSF is particularly concerned about 'enforcement' measures being pushed by
the EU that could stop medicines at Indian ports from leaving the country
on their way to patients in other developing countries, and could even draw
treatment providers like MSF into court proceedings.
'What the EU is trying to do with this trade agreement is effectively slow
poison the production of affordable generic medicines in India, which has
helped keep so many people alive,' said Piero Gandini, Head of Mission for
MSF in India. 'This trade agreement could target us as treatment providers,
simply for buying generic medicines from India to treat patients in our
programmes.'
The protest in Delhi followed similar rallies this week by activists and
people living with HIV in Nepal, Malaysia, the UK, South Africa and
Cameroon.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO ARRANGE INTERVIEWS, PLEASE CONTACT:
Sheila Shettle, MSF +91.(0)98.718.007.23Â Shailly Gupta, MSF +91.(0)
98.999.761.08
NOTE TO EDITORS:
HHarmful provisions in the EU-India FTA include: Enforcement measures which could lead to generic medicines being prohibited from leaving India on their way to patients in other developing countries, on the mere allegation that a patent or trademark is being infringed. This could also embroil treatment providers - such as MSF - in legal battles simply for providing generic medicines to patients. The investment part of the FTA would expand companies ability to sue the Indian government when it regulates health in the public interest, for example by overriding a drug patent to increase access to a medicine, or through drug price controls. These disputes would be handled outside of domestic courts in secret settlement panels, with large sums in damages at stake. As a result of investment provisions in FTAs between other countries, several such disputes have already been filed by corporations against governments, in order to force a reversal of public health policies (Phillip Morris vs. Uruguay). Companies claim these policies lead to so called expropriation of their investments and profits. A further measure - so-called data exclusivity - could effectively block generic production even if a patent is not granted or has expired. While the EU has stated that they are no longer officially demanding data exclusivity, behind closed doors, the EU continues to pressure India to change its laws. The EU must keep to its commitment not to put this back on the table.
MSF currently provides HIV treatment to 170,000 people in 19 countries.
Joanna Keenan
Press Officer
Médecins Sans Frontières - Access Campaign
E: joanna.keenan[at]geneva.msf.org