Counterfeit definition worrys Pharmas

The industry feels that a proposal by the International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) of the WHO to consider apparent "trademark violations" as "counterfeiting" cases would harm exports of generic drug makers.

If the changes do go through, they say, foreign drug firms could stall exports of low-cost versions of patent expired medicines to key markets.

Today, Indian firms have several brands that sound similar to those of multinational brands, industry sources explained.

For example, global drug major Pfizer has an erectile dysfunction medicine Viagra, while Indian companies make generic versions of Viagra with similar sounding names.

Currently, this would at the most be treated as a trademark violation. However, according to the definition proposed by IMPACT, the Indian product could be rejected as counterfeit, the sources explained.

This attempt to widen the definition of counterfeit medicine is happening at a time when a deliberate attempt is being made to label India as a major source of counterfeit medicines.

Indian companies, increasingly dependant on exports of cheap off-patented medicines to developed markets to drive business growth, will find this a major problem, the sources said.

Sensing the potential harm, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) of top domestic pharma firms has appealed to the international generic industry, civil society and academia to oppose the creation of another non-tariff barrier in the name of counterfeit drugs.

"The IMPACT definition refers to