 |
 |
| Press Release: President of India gives his assent to the Patent Act, 2005 |
2005-04-08 02:00:00 <SEA-AIDS> |
|
 |
|
|
Press Release: President of India gives his assent to the Patent Act, 2005
Affordable Medicines & Treatment Campaign
7 April 2005
************
Misguided Patent Law will affect access to Affordable Medicines
Delhi - India has amended its 1970 Patent Act in order to be compliant with the requirements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) without essential safeguards to protect against future rise in drug prices. All appeals to the President by patients, treatment and health groups requesting him to recommend review of compulsory licencing provisions failed to elicit a response.
"Around the world treatment access groups have looked to India's leadership on patent issues," said Shalini Singh Deo of Affordable Medicines and Treatment Campaign. She warned, "Without key safeguards like compulsory licences, when we need new drugs, we won't be able to afford them. Benefits of research and development will not reach people in the developing world without compulsory licencing".
The message from Indian and international treatment activists is clear that the process of compulsory licensing in India for future patented drugs will be extremely cumbersome. There is no ceiling on royalties to be paid, which will lead to endless litigation and delays. It allows the patent owner to challenge the grant of the compulsory licence and endlessly delay the entry of generic products.
Tripti Tandon of the Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit clarified that, "As per the law passed by parliament, generic manufacturers will have to wait a minimum of three and a half years before applying for a compulsory license to manufacture the patented drug unless the government chooses to declare a health emergency. Disagreeing with the criteria set for issuing a compulsory licence promptly, she added, "Any serious illness is an emergency for the patient and the family".
"While the developed world will have access to newer and more effective drugs, people in the developing countries will have to continue on older drugs," says Leena Menghaney a Lawyer working with people living with HIV/AIDS. "The real fight begins now. When patents are granted we will have to push for compulsory licences with fair royalties that reflect industry norms".
Press Contact: Leena Menghaney, 9811365412
63/2, 1st Floor, Masjid Road
Jangpura
New Delhi 110 014
Phone: 2432 1101, 2432 1102, 2432 2237
Fax: 2432 2236
Email: amtc_india@yahoo.co.in
---------
Speak your world!
A posting from SEA-AIDS (sea-aids@eforums.healthdev.org)
To submit a posting, send to sea-aids@eforums.healthdev.org
For anonymous postings, add the word "anon" to the subject line
To join, send a blank message to join-sea-aids@eforums.healthdev.org
To leave, send a blank email to leave-sea-aids@eforums.healthdev.org
For details of how to access discussion archives: http://www.hdnet.org
You are currently subscribed to SEA-AIDS as: %%emailaddr%%
---------
SEA-AIDS is a regional eForum on HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.
SEA-AIDS is coordinated by the Health & Development Networks Resource Team (HDN, www.hdnet.org) with the support of Development Cooperation Ireland (DCI, www.dci.gov.ie).
The views expressed in this forum do not necessarily reflect those of HDN or DCI.
Reproduction welcomed provided HDN is informed of usage and source is cited as follows: SEA-AIDS eForum 2005: sea-aids@eforums.healthdev.org
|  |
|
|
|
|
