Access to Medicines in India: A Review of Recent Concerns

29 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2009

See all articles by Chan Park

Chan Park

Medicines Patent Pool

Arjun Jayadev

University of Massachusetts Boston - Department of Economics

Date Written: July 20, 2009

Abstract

India has long been a central front in the struggle for access to affordable medicines. Because of its dynamic generic pharmaceutical industry, it has become what Médecins Sans Frontières has called the “Pharmacy of the Developing World” (MSF 2007). As a result, it has also been a key battleground on some of the most contentious issues relating to whether, and to what extent, countries retain flexibilities under the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (the TRIPS Agreement) to ensure that patent protection does not come at the cost of access to safe, effective and affordable essential medicines. This chapter reviews some of the key developments in India, four years on, since the entry into force of the Patents (Amendment) Act of 2005, which introduced product patent protection for pharmaceuticals for the first time since 1972. Although there have been some notable successes for the access to medicines movement, many challenges remain, and the future of India’s continuing status as the developing world’s pharmacy remains unclear. This paper examines some of the key challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for India.

Keywords: India, Access to Medicines, TRIPS, Data Exclusivity, Patents

JEL Classification: I10, I11, I18, L3, 010, 034

Suggested Citation

Park, Chan and Jayadev, Arjun, Access to Medicines in India: A Review of Recent Concerns (July 20, 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1436732 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1436732

Chan Park

Medicines Patent Pool ( email )

150 Route de Ferney
P.O. Box 2100
Geneva
Switzerland

Arjun Jayadev (Contact Author)

University of Massachusetts Boston - Department of Economics ( email )

100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125
United States

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