The international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a strong stand against weakening of Indian patent law under US pressure as the Indian patent law has helped millions of people in India and across the developing world get access to affordable life-saving medicines.

The MSF's request in this regard comes in the wake of US Trade Representative Michael Froman's recent meeting with high-ranking Indian officials to likely pressure the government to weaken its pro-public health patent law.

India’s patent law has allowed robust competition among generic drug producers to drive medicines prices down, leading to, for example, a 99 per cent reduction in the price of HIV medicines, from more than $10,000 per person per year in 2000 to roughly $100 today.

India has faced fierce pressure from the US government and the pharmaceutical industry as it has made use of public health measures in its patent law. In March 2012, India issued a ‘compulsory license’ for the cancer drug sorafenib, which was deemed unaffordable in the country, at US$ 5,500 per month. This move allowed generic versions of the drug to be sold in India, immediately bringing the price down to just $175 per month and enabling people to access the drug. Through strict criteria in India’s patent law that outlines what does and does not deserve a patent, India has avoided granting excessive monopolies to companies for new forms of existing medicines. Related to this part of the law, in April 2013, India’s Supreme Court upheld one of the key sections of India’s patent law in a landmark ruling against pharmaceutical company Novartis, the MSF said.

Despite the fact that both of these moves were entirely in line with India’s obligations under World Trade Organization rules, the US government and pharmaceutical industry have together increased pressure on India to weaken its law ever since. Specifically, they have lobbied against India’s stricter patentability criteria; and against the discretion of the Patent Controller to grant a compulsory license to a competitor to bring down the prices of medicines that are patented.
 
“India has been a global leader in ensuring access to medicines in developing countries, so the world will be watching closely to see whether the country will cave in under US pressure or not,” said Rohit Malpani, Director of Policy and Analysis at MSF’s Access Campaign. “Several of India’s BRICS peers like Brazil and South Africa are looking to India’s law for inspiration as they try to reform their own patent laws to limit abuse of the patent system in the interest of access to medicines.”

“We rely on affordable medicines produced in India, which is called the ‘pharmacy of the developing world,’ so we are very worried the US Trade Representative is here in Delhi to try to shut it down,” said Leena Menghaney, South Asia Manager for MSF’s Access Campaign.