<incom> India as "Pharmacy of Developing World"

[Paula Chakravartty]

Likely most of you have already heard about yesterday's historic  
ruling in Chennai, but if not a quick summary below.

Cheers

Paula Chakravartty

Associate Professor

Department of Communication

UMass Amherst





http://www.csrwire.com/News/9376.html:



Indian Ruling Against Novartis a Victory for Public Health





(CSRwire) August 6, 2007- Today's verdict by an Indian court against  
the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is an important victory for  
global public health, according to international aid agency Oxfam and  
the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, an institutional  
investor organization.

In a direct attack against India's right to protect public health,  
Novartis had challenged an Indian-law that allows the country to  
refuse a patent for an existing medicine when it is not truly  
innovative. But today's decision will protect India's special role as  
the world's leading provider of affordable medicines to people who  
depend on inexpensive medicines as their only means of treatment.

"This ruling is a vindication for India and a victory for public  
health," said Celine Charveriat, head of Oxfam's Make Trade Fair  
campaign. "Developing countries should not be bullied by  
pharmaceutical companies and forced to defend themselves in court for  
correctly using the safeguards legally available to them to protect  
public health. Novartis should respect this ruling."

With this ruling, Novartis and the pharmaceutical industry have been  
given a clear message to respect developing countries' legal right to  
use the World Trade Organization TRIPS (trade-related intellectual  
property) safeguards in order to strike a fair balance between  
protecting public health and intellectual property, noted Oxfam and  
ICCR.

India - known as the 'pharmacy of the developing world' due to its  
massive generic drug production industry - supplies most of the  
world's affordable generics to developing countries where patented  
medicines are priced out of most people's reach. More than two-thirds  
of the generic medicines produced in India are exported to developing  
countries at a fraction of the cost of patented brand medicines.  
Multilateral and bilateral aid programs, such as the US AIDS  
treatment program (PEPFAR), UNICEF and Doctors without Borders, rely  
heavily on Indian generics.

"One can only hope that this ruling will send a message to Novartis  
and the rest of the pharmaceutical industry that safeguarding public  
health and guaranteeing access to medicines for the marginalized and  
poor needs to be included in any patent protection framework that  
hopes to be universally credible and acceptable" said Rev Séamus Finn  
OMI, representing the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Novartis  
shareholders and members of the ICCR AIDS working group.

Novartis' legal challenge posed an enormous threat in developing  
countries to millions of people suffering from cancer, HIV and AIDS,  
diabetes and other diseases who are too poor to pay for expensive  
patented medicines. Novartis' attempt to intimidate India into  
exceeding its obligations under the TRIPS Agreement not only  
jeopardized public health across the developing world, but also  
severely damaged the company's reputation in developed and developing  
countries. Nearly 500,000 people around the world have lent their  
support to petitions calling on Novartis to pull the case.  
Furthermore, Novartis has also been questioned by numerous high-level  
political actors in India, across Europe and in the United States.  
Novartis' actions, and the resulting backlash against the company,  
raise fears among investors of a regulatory backlash and a further  
erosion of the pharmaceutical industry's reputation, which is already  
questioned in key emerging markets such as India.

Oxfam and ICCR now call on Novartis to take positive steps to  
recognize the importance of ensuring access to medicines in  
developing countries, especially by taking new, positive steps to  
improve access to medicines. The organizations note that this could  
include promoting research and development for neglected diseases  
while also striking an appropriate balance between protecting public  
health safeguards in developing countries and intellectual property  
rights.

NOTES:

The provision in the Indian law - "section 3d" - states that patent  
monopolies will be awarded only for truly innovative medicines,  
rather than for minor modifications of existing medicines. Because  
monopolies will not be granted on medicines other than truly  
innovative ones, affordable generic versions will remain available.  
This will help protect India's role as the main supplier of  
affordable generics to other developing countries where patented  
medicines are priced out of reach of most people.
This ruling comes at a time when patentability criteria are under  
examination in other countries as well, for instance the United  
States. Recognizing that patentability criteria which lead to the  
granting of frivolous patents can hinder innovation and access to new  
products rather than promote it, the US Supreme Court has recently  
ruled in favor of stricter criteria.
The provision in Indian law under challenge by Novartis constitutes  
an important public health safeguard in TRIPS. Developing countries  
should be commended for using this and other safeguards to promote  
access to affordable medicines for their populations. Oxfam supports  
use of public health safeguards - recent examples include the  
issuance of compulsory licenses by Brazil and Thailand, and the  
introduction of a new, pro-health intellectual property law in the  
Philippines.
The right of all WTO members to use the flexibilities and safeguards  
in the TRIPS Agreement to promote "access to medicines for all" was  
confirmed in 2001 (the Doha Declaration). Since then, however, rich  
countries and big pharmaceutical companies have sought to prevent or  
limit their use by developing countries, endangering the well-being  
of poor patients everywhere.



For more information please contact:

Laura Rusu, Press Officer
Oxfam America
202-459-3739
www.oxfamamerica.org

Lauren Compere
ICCR
617-720-5557

www.oxfamamerica.org



News Categories: CSR - General and Human Rights