HIV/AIDS Treatment Legal and Political Choices for India

Abstract

Multinational pharmaceutical companies patent essential drugs routinely in developed countries. Patents grant a monopoly to manufacture and sell a particular drug to one pharmaceutical company. Drugs are therefore very expensive in developed countries as availability and pricing is dependent on one pharmaceutical company. In contrast with the absence of product patents, Indian pharmaceutical companies manufacture and sell generic drugs at a fraction of the price of patented drugs. In developing countries therefore affordable generic drugs from India are imported and used in the treatment of diseases and illnesses which are life threatening and chronic. AIDS, cancer, mental illness, asthma, and tuberculosis are some of the diseases for which generic drugs are sourced from India. All this is now set to change. The ability of generic pharmaceutical companies in India to manufacture and sell essential drugs at affordable prices to patients and governments in developing countries including in India is at risk due to the amendments in the Indian Patent Act. The impact of the legal amendments to the India Patent Act introduced in 2005 under the TRIPS agreement are going to be felt increasingly across the developing world. In the coming decade as product patents on essential drugs are granted in India to multinational pharmaceutical companies, many of these drugs will become either unavailable or very expensive. The article highlights the importance of generic drug manufacturing in India in the context of AIDS treatment. Legal options before the government of India to limit the impact of patents on generic manufacturing of affordable medicines are discussed with an emphasis on the political nature of the decisions involved.