Drug makers seek removal from patent watch list

Pharma body moves USTR, says no cases of compulsory licensing or patent revocation in last two years

The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) wants the US government to remove India from the list of countries with ineffective intellectual property rights frameworks.

The IPA, which represents top domestic drug makers, has made a submission to the US Trade Representative Office (USTR), citing government initiatives and zero instances of compulsory licencing and patent revocation in the last two years as reasons for removing India from the list.

In 2016 the USTR included in the priority watch list for "lack of sufficient measurable improvements to its intellectual property rights framework." The same year the US enacted the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act.