Govt sops likely for drug exports avoiding Europe

The Centre may give sops to drug exporters for shipments to Africa and Latin America through a route that would avoid passing through Europe, while it prepares to drag the European Union (EU) to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over seizure of consignments of Indian pharma companies.

EU has seized Indian generic drugs en route Latin America and Africa on several occasions in the recent times, citing patent violations.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals has submitted a freight subsidy scheme for exporters to the commerce ministry so that they could take alternative routes and avoid transit through Europe, which is a shorter route with better connectivity.

“(The) Ministry of Commerce has agreed with the (subsidy) scheme. I think they will introduce it,” Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary Ashok Kumar said on the sidelines of a Ficci function today.

Kumar also said the government would take up the issue of Indian generic drug seizure by EU at WTO.

“We are going to WTO,” Kumar said when asked what the government was doing to help exporters against drug seizures.

Commenting on the Centre’s move, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance Secretary General D G Shah said: “India should assert the right to free trade and right to passage according to the WTO free trade norms.”

The latest incident of seizure was in October at Paris airport when consignment of generic anti-clotting tablets ‘clopidogrel’, made by a Mumbai-based drug company for Venezuela, was confiscated by French authorities.

In February and March, the Netherlands had confiscated blood pressure control and anti-HIV drugs going to Brazil, Columbia and Nigeria on grounds of alleged patent infringement. The consignments were sent by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Aurobindo Pharmaceuticals.