Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Indian Patent Law Scares HIV & Consumer Advocates

Health campaigners fear stronger patent laws enacted by India in 2005 -- which Novartis is trying to shore up in the case of Glivec -- will jeopardise India's role as a source of cheap generic medicines for the most needy. The proceedings pit Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG against an Indian patent system that it says stifles innovation.

Medical aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres estimates over half of AIDS drugs used in poor countries come from India. If Novartis wins its case, more medicines will end up being patented, making it very difficult for Indian firms to manufacture cheap copies, it says.

Stung by criticism from campaign groups, Novartis insists tighter intellectual property laws will, in fact, ensure future investment in new medicines by rewarding research.

"I'm convinced -- and I'm a scientist -- that patents save lives, because without patents you cannot discover and develop new drugs and get them to patients," Paul Herrling, Novartis head of corporate research, said in an interview in London.

The company points out that safeguards already exist in international trade agreements. These protect access to essential medicines by allowing for the export of drugs which are produced under compulsory licenses, issued for public health reasons.

Many companies also run access programmes, which offer affordable brand-name equivalents to cheap generics.

To follow this research, read on.