BIO
It’s not even clear that the compulsory licence has resulted in any benefit for patients. Feisee points out that “the compulsory licence was issued to Natco, which wanted to sell the medicine at a price beyond what the ordinary Indian can afford so, in essence, the people that the licence was supposed to help, have not been helped".
Given the potential size of the Indian market, it may seem as though companies will just have to put up with the caprices of the Indian system. Not necessarily, says Feisee. “You say companies are unlikely to pull out of India as a result. If the compulsory licence is just one issue and there are no other grievances then I’m sure companies would overlook it, but at some point, they’re going to do a risk:benefit assessment and say ‘OK, India is a huge market but a lot of other markets are now emerging’,” she says “One of the
“COUNTRIES WILL CONTINUE TO ENGAGE TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY CAN IN INDIA AND THAT THEY FEEL WILL BENEFIT THEM, BUT IT’S A BIG WORLD, AND THERE ARE OTHER MARKETS.”
factors our companies are looking at now is the third wave of emerging markets. Yes, I’m sure countries will continue to engage to the extent that they can in India and that they feel will benefit them, but it’s a big world, and there are other markets that our companies are also very interested in looking at.”
Of course, engagement on a country-by-country basis is not the only way to tackle the problem. To that end, BIO continues to engage with international organisations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization. “Te World Health Assembly meeting was in May and one issue we’ve been following closely is the possible initiation of an R&D treaty or convention, which has some aspects that are worrying,” Damond says. “In WIPO,
12 Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review 2012
www.worldipreview.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64