Generic companies and the third world countries are facing a new threat from the powerful multinational drug companies and developed nations today. A decade ago, branded drug companies were dominating the world pharmaceutical market with huge profits under patent protection. Generic products posed no danger to the powerful big pharma then. The situation has dramatically changed over the last ten years. Generic companies, mostly from India, Brazil and Israel have started producing adequate quantities of generic drugs to meet their own domestic demand and also for the requirements of developed world and developing nations of Asia, Latin America and Africa. With easy availability of generics worldwide, a large number of medical practitioners have also started prescribing generics for the poor in the US and Europe. Most of the governments of developing countries are encouraging the use of generics to cut rising medical costs. This growing trend of using generic drugs in most therapeutic categories is already hitting the profitability of MNCs. They cannot allow this trend to go on as that will threaten the very survival of these companies. The seizures of Indian generic consignments to Latin American countries at European ports by the customs officials during the last six months and the ban on a number of pharmaceutical products of Indian companies by the US authorities are all part of this agenda to curtail generic companies. A campaign by MNCs is also on in several African countries to bring legislative measures to ban the imports of generics. Countries like Kenya and Uganda have already brought in legislations banning import of generics. Of late, there appears to be a subtle move by the MNCs to put further pressure on generic producing countries through the World Intellectual Property Organization by seeking to modify the present patent system. The objective is to curtail availability of cheap generic drugs worldwide so that the threat to brand companies may subside. Generic drug supply to the entire developing world may get seriously affected if such a move to curb production of generics is successful through WIPO. Generic companies have alerted the government of India fearing a possible move like this by WIPO. An official from WIPO has, however, denied having such a plan in response to a report appeared in Pharmabiz last week. Under the TRIPS Agreement, the developing countries are allowed certain flexibilities while granting patents to pharmaceutical products. This is in consideration of the socio economic conditions prevailing in these countries. Developing countries cannot afford to lose this privilege and freedom to independently decide the patentability of a molecule at whatever cost. India has already changed its patent law allowing product patent for new inventions from 2005 as part of its obligations under TRIPS. But, since then several hundreds of patent applications are filed in India by mostly MNCs for inventions which are not new but just modifications of existing molecules. Such frivolous patent claims from pharmaceutical companies have to be systematically rejected by the patent offices to encourage generic production and their export to the third world.