|
Uma Shankar Bose, Dy. Minister of Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals |
|
|
Uma Shankar Bose, Dy. Minister of Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals |
We're not in the inner cabinet, so the decision to open our pharmaceutical industry to the First World took up by surprise. India has a long history of pharmaceutical production for our needs. To ensure that we could produce affordable medicines for the health problems that exist in India, the Government of India took ownership and control of a few failing drug companies.
We know the World Trade Organization and the US want us to privatize the few drug companies owned by the government. They want us to change our perfectly good patent laws. So, the recent WTO permits us to sell generics, but the change in the patent laws will end our generic drug production!
The US demand is expectable-- the benefit goes to the big, rich, drug companies in the West. They charge so much for medications; they make obscene profits; they don't make drugs that we need. And under this new rule, they can buy our firms and end our ability to provide for our medical needs.
We have brought drug prices down in India and other countries by our own R&D and manufacture. Look at CIPLA--they were able to reduce the lowest prices of western-based AIDS drugs by half, while still reporting a 40% increase in profits. We developed a reliable and cheap HIV-test. Indian firms are interested in researching and finding remedies for malaria, dengue fever, HIV/AIDS, and other tropical maladies. Western firms are not interested in these--they can't make enough money.
Why should India cave into demands on patent change? China doesn't. The US does not support us on issues of importance. It is important that India protect its vital interests, and that includes producing affordable medicines for our health problems.
Prime Minister's Secretariat
Dy. Minister of Health
Dy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Indian Drug Manufacturer's Association Exec. Director