India has assured that it is not proceeding with anything against its pharmaceutical industry in the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks with several countries and trading blocs.
The Commerce Ministry has stated that during the FTA discussions with European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member countries, India rejected Switzerland's demand for data exclusivity for medicines.
EFTA comprises Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland. Pledging India's full support for its generic drugs industry, the Commerce Ministry has emphasised the importance of ensuring the flourishing of the country's generic drugs industry, contributing to both exports and domestic needs.
Recently, the non-profit organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) claimed that leaked texts of several FTAs revealed problematic intellectual property (IP) provisions that could tighten the screws on producing, supplying, and exporting affordable generic medicines from India.
MSF cited news reports claiming that the EFTA negotiations led by Switzerland were in their final stages, with only discussions on IP-related aspects remaining.
Asserting that harmful proposals could delay access to affordable generic versions of newer lifesaving medicines for several years, MSF contended that Switzerland's proposals included changes to India's patents and drug regulatory laws, dilution of the pre-grant opposition mechanism, and the introduction of a new type of IP barrier, data exclusivity.
MSF expressed fears that this move might lead to a kind of monopoly preventing India's drug regulator from granting authorisation to generic versions of new medicines for a period of 6 years.
(Edited by : Anand Singha)
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