[Ip-health] India: Government sets up high-leve R&D group looking at post 2005 world

[James Love]

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=3D46090

R&D Group To Prepare Pharmaceutical Sector For Product Patent Regime
SANJAY SARDANA

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 12:  The government has set up a high-level research
and development (R&D) group to look into the requirements of the
industry post-2005 and prepare it for the time when product patents will
be in force in India. The group has representations from leading
domestic pharma companies including Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy=92s Lab, Wockhardt,
Sun Pharma and Torrent Pharma.

The group, which has been set up at the behest of the ministry of
chemicals and fertilisers, will prepare a roadmap for R&D modernisation
and will study the available models in other sectors as well. It will
also draft a blueprint for the government=92s consideration.

Its progress will be monitored by the chemical ministry and it is
expected to be a time-bound programme which will help the industry
achieve sustainable growth, feels the government.

At the first meeting of the group, held in October, the industry
representatives called for creation of scientific and education
infrastructure, knowledge management on intellectual property rights
(IPR) and removal of restrictions on animal testing. The industry also
stressed on the need to set up centres of excellence in R&D in the
country, as they exist in developed countries.

Apart from the director, department of chemicals and petrochemicals
(ministry of chemicals and fertilisers) as its convenor, the group has
Rashmi Bharbhaiya, president (R&D) of Ranbaxy Laboratory; A
Venkateswarlu, director at Dr Reddy=92s Laboratories; Noel D=92Souza,
director (R&D) at Wockhardt; Amarjit Singh, executive V-P (R&D) of Sun
Pharmaceuticals, Srikumar Suryanarayan, president (R&D) of Biocon and
Chintaya Dutta, director (R&D) at Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) is being represented by its
secretary-general DG Shah, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association by its
president Yogin Mazumdar and National Institute of Pharmaceutical
Education Research (NIPER) by its director CL Kaul.

It is interesting to note that even though an R&D fund created by the
ministry two years ago had promised to provide Rs 150 crore annually to
the industry for five years, money is yet to materialise for the purpose.


--
James Love, Director, Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org, mailto:james.love@cptech.org
tel. +1.202.387.8030, mobile +1.202.361.3040