Indian generic exporters are at last getting some support from the European and US authorities after being harassed by the powerful MNCs for several months at the market place. The Trade and Competition Commissions of the European Union and the US have taken objection to the unfair competition practices adopted by MNCs to extend their monopoly of patented drugs by delaying low-cost generics from reaching consumers. The EU Commission-Competition has found in its recent inquiry that innovator companies are indulging in a variety of strategies to extent the commercial life of their drugs and prolong the entry of generics. The call made by the EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes last week for stricter regulation of such practices of large international pharma companies is thus quite significant. She warned of steep fines if MNCs continue to block entry of cheaper drugs into the market at a time when world is struggling to cut healthcare costs. There have been instances wherein Indian generics have been seized at EU ports en route to Latin American countries on charges of counterfeiting and patent infringement. In the last six months, there were 16 cases of seizures of Indian generics at the Dutch airport, which were headed, to countries in Latin America. As recently as in May, an Indian consignment of amoxicillin was seized in Frankfurt on charges of being counterfeit. MNCs have gone one step further in Africa by influencing some of the nations there to pass legislations against import of generic drugs. Both Kenya and Uganda have thus already passed Anti-counterfeit Acts classifying generics as counterfeit drugs a few weeks ago thereby denying cheaper drugs to the poor in these countries.
Like the EU, the Federal Trade Commission of the US is also taking measures to curb the unfair practices adopted by the MNCs to delay entry of generics. The FTC is of the view that consumers, insurance companies and the federal government spend an extra $3.5 billion for prescription drugs every year because the brand-name companies pay generic producers to stay out of the market. The FTC has even challenged some such shady deals in courts on the ground that patent settlements were sometimes used to disguise payoffs that kept generic drugs off the market. FTC chief, Jon Leibowitz, urged the Congress to pass legislation banning such deals between brand-name drug makers and generic companies seeking to delay production of cheaper versions of drugs. Eliminating such deals should, undoubtedly, be a priority and responsibility of the American government considering the fact that a large number of US citizens are not covered by the medical insurance. It is heartening to note that the Trade Commissions in the US and Europe are realising the need for low cost drugs to their populations and the game played by the big pharma companies. The governments of both in developed and developing countries have to come forward and support this FTC initiative of making generics easily available to the poor patients all over the world.