Chennai based Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS (INP+) has appealed to the Prime Minister to desist from the move to introduce data exclusivity provision for drugs. Any decision that causes delay in registration (marketing approval) can seriously impact the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS who face the threat of drug resistance every four years and are therefore dependent on generic manufacture in India to access newer drugs and treatment at affordable prices, they pointed out.

The network said that their members remain highly susceptible to other infections like HIV and TB co-infection and access to affordable essential drugs for opportunistic infections is critical in ensuring long, healthy and productive lives for persons living with HIV/AIDS. "An inter-ministerial task force will meet on July 12, 06 to decide on the two options - data protection or data exclusivity. We therefore strongly urge you to take into consideration public health needs of patients in India and other developing countries when implementing Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement. We request you to ensure that generic competition remains viable and possible in India. So many of us are depending on it for access to affordable medicines worldwide. For us it is a matter of life and death, " K K Abraham, president INP + stated.

INP+ is a national network for, by and of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in India. It started in 1997 as a support group, and have now grown into a national movement of 22 affiliated State Level Networks, 106 District Level Networks and more than 32,000 members across the country.