NGOs want check on pharma M&As

"We are deeply disturbed. The government should realise that in areas like medicine, food and defence, mergers and acquisitions should be allowed after considering the public interest issues," Anand Grover of Lawyers Collective said.Grover said the key issue arising out of the acquisition is the possible change in Ranbaxy's intellectual property (IP) policies.  "After an independent generic firm becomes part of an innovator company, it may never have the same IP policy as before. This will harm the ability of patient groups to source cheaper versions of patented medicines," he said.The activists felt that the government should put in place some system to closely monitor deals of this kind in the future.  "The acquisition of Ranbaxy should not be viewed merely as another corporate M&A. Ranbaxy is one of the leading suppliers of many life saving generic drugs, including ARV drugs for the treatment of HIV/Aids. This acquisition, particularly given the history of Daiichi Sankyo in filing lawsuits against generic competition, has the potential to adversely impact access to affordable medicines in India and other developing countries," K M Gopakumar, researcher, Centre for Trade and Development (Centad), said."In the coming days, Ranbaxy may not be in a position to follow any aggressive strategy to introduce generic drugs, including the use of pre and post-grant oppositions and compulsory licences, which allows generic companies to override patents and copy cat versions in emergency situations.The government would be well advised to carefully study the implications of Daiichi Sankyo's acquisition of Ranbaxy on access to medicines and on competition in the pharmaceutical market and take necessary law and policy measures based on the findings of the study.  The government should also notify relevant provisions of the competition law, which will empower the Competition Commission of India to undertake inquiries into such deals," Gopakumar added. Jan Swasthya Abhiyan's Amit Sen Gupta has similar concerns. He blames current government policies and introduction of product patent system for turning Indian drug companies vulnerable to such acquisitions. "With the advent of product patent regime, there has been a major shift in policy and this was one of the reasons for the deal going through," Gupta said.