INDIAN GOVERNMENT REBUTS PRICE FEARS ON NEW PATENT FRAMEWORK

India's government has insisted that the country's new patent framework will not increase prices of essential drugs, despite the concerns of leftwing parties and international humanitarian groups, including Doctors without Borders. Those groups are concerned because they fear the framework could force substitution of brand drugs for unregulated generics that have reduced prices of essential medicines across the sector in the past.

However, officials insist that up to 97% of the drugs produced by Indian generics makers are off patent, and that the substitution of ethical alternatives would thus be inapplicable. Government sources also claimed that drugs affected by the new legislation have affordable alternatives, and that a compulsory licensing system would also ensure access to Indian drugs, currently among the world's cheapest.

Nevertheless, the sector's reaction to the new laws has been mixed, with many multinationals welcoming the new law, although US drug major Pfizer recently cited "ambiguities" in the regulations, while others questioned the likely effectiveness of enforcement. Local drugmakers which have expanded R&D and pursued overseas opportunities, such as Ranbaxy, have welcomed the new law. However, less diversified producers such as Cipla have recently expressed fears that they will be unable to compete with multinational drugmakers.