Protest over pressure on India to strengthen IPR

Hundreds of activists Thursday staged a protest here over pressure by Western nations on India to strengthen intellectual property rights, which has the potential to limit the production of life-saving generic medication.

Gathered under the banner of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the activists demanded at a rally at Jantar Mantar that India should not sign the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights-plus (TRIPS-plus), which can cut off the potential supply of cheaper generic medicines that can save lives, especially when the original branded products are priced so high that very few can afford them.

"India right now is out of the purview of the agreement on TRIPS, a provision under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, which allows countries to issue compulsory licenses on patented drugs in instance of public health emergencies," said AHF country programme manager Nochiketa Mohanty.

"However, now some WTO members are calling for the implementation of TRIPS-plus, a new version of the original agreement that would severely limit the existing flexibilities for bypassing patents," he said.

According to a documentary film, "Fire in the blood", an intricate tale of medicine, monopoly and malice that tells that since 1996 over 10 million people have died unnecessarily in African countries and the global south due to the blocked access to low cost AIDS drugs by Western pharmaceutical companies.

Terri Ford, chief of global advocacy of AHF, said: "It would be a tragedy if restrictive IP protections deprive the rapidly growing population of HIV patients throughout India from access to advanced life saving ARVs (anti-retrovirals)."

"The adaptation of TRIPS-plus will clearly allow big pharmas to increase their drug prices and make generic medicines less accessible by delaying or preventing their market entry," Ford said.