’FTAs may close tap on affordable drugs’
The Hindu
’FTAs may close tap on affordable drugs’
India’s ability to produce low-cost generics may be impacted, says UN-backed agency’.
By P.T. Jyothi Datta
18 September 2010
Mumbai, Sept. 16/In a rare public endorsement of a concern gaining momentum in various quarters, Unitaid has expressed concerns about the impact Free Trade Agreements would have on India’s capacity to make affordable medicines for domestic and overseas markets.
The United-Nations supported Unitaid is an international drug purchase facility.
Citing a recent study by the Journal of the International AIDS Society, Unitaid said Indian generic manufacturers have supplied more than 80 per cent of donor-funded AIDS medicines to developing countries in the last seven years. And it goes on to caution that the trade agreements India is currently negotiating may close the tap on affordable medicines for AIDS patients.
Grave concerns
“The findings of this study raise grave concerns for us because Unitaid relies heavily on Indian generic manufacturers to supply quality-assured, patient-friendly, low-cost AIDS medicines in over 50 countries,” said Unitaid Executive Secretary, Mr Jorge Bermudez.
“What we need today is a more flexible approach to scale up treatment and not the opposite,” it added.
India is in the process of finalising FTAs with the European Union and Japan. In fact, the Commerce Ministry is said to be seeking Cabinet approval for the Japanese FTA, expected to be finalised during the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan next month.
In its study, the Journal further says, “a global trade agreement — known as Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) — which has bound India to apply for product patents since 2005 — has already begun to curtail the country’s ability to produce low-cost generic versions of newer medicines. New trade agreements being currently discussed may further reduce India’s vital role as a provider of life-saving treatments.”
The study comes at a time when the World Health Organisation (WHO) has introduced new recommendations for people living with HIV/AIDS to begin treatment earlier and to switch to newer medicines that are more robust and less toxic, but also much more expensive, the note said.
This means, more people will need treatment today and the cost of treatment could skyrocket if new products cannot be made available at affordable generic prices.
“If Indian manufacturers cannot meet these demands, a lot of the progress we have made in the last seven years will be reversed,” added Unitaid’s Mr Bermudez.
AIDS treatment
AIDS treatment has seen progress in recent years, with about four million people starting treatment between 2003 and 2008, due largely to India’s ability to produce low-cost quality medicines and to healthy competition among India’s producers, the study said.
For instance, the Indian generic version of the most commonly used first-line adult regimen (lamivudine/nevirapine/stavudine) dropped from $414 per person, per year in 2003 to $74 per person, per year in 2008.
Since 2006, Indian-produced generic antiretrovirals (AIDS drugs) have accounted for more than 80 per cent of the donor-funded developing country market, and comprised 87 per cent of ARV purchase volumes in 2008. In 2008, Indian-produced generics accounted for 91 per cent of paediatric ARV volumes.
By 2008, Indian generic ARVs accounted for 65 per cent of the total value ($463 million) of ARV purchases reported, while non-Indian generic and innovator ARVs accounted for 13 per cent and 22 per cent of market value, respectively, the study said.
