[Ip-health] Affordable Medicines & Treatment Campaign Statement on New Indian Patents Law

[Mike Palmedo]

Affordable Medicines & Treatment Campaign

Press Statement
January 13, 2005

Contact for more information:
K.M. Gopkumur, AMTC +91 981 91 40881
Asia Russell, Health GAP +1 267 475 2645

New Indian Patents Law Threatens AIDS Treatment Access in India and
Worldwide

(Mumbai) In a press conference today, international AIDS activists
working for access to affordable AIDS treatment called on the Indian
Government to repeal the law that introduced product patent protection
on medicines through an Ordinance, promulgated December 26, 2004.

"India should be proud to be producing and exporting cheap, generic AIDS
drugs for people in need. The changes to the patent law will increase
the price of new drugs, as well as some AIDS medicines that are already
produced and exported in generic form," said Rolake Nwagwu of Positive
Action for Treatment (PATA), Nigeria. "Rising treatment costs will spell
disaster for people with HIV in India and around the world."

8,500 people with HIV die daily worldwide due to lack of access to
treatment. More than 5 million people in India are HIV positive, making
India's epidemic one of the worst in the world. Of the 40 million people
living with HIV, 6 million people are in immediate need of treatment; at
least 500.000 of those are in India. Only 440.000 people with HIV in
developing countries currently have access to antiretroviral treatment.
This access has been greatly facilitated by Indian generic competition
decreasing the costs of medicines as much as 98%. Indian manufacturers
currently export generics to 200 poor countries.

For people with HIV whose current treatment regimen is failing, access
to newer, more expensive "second-line" AIDS drugs will be critical.
These combinations cost as much as 20 times more than initial
combinations. Generic production of many of these medicines will be
blocked by India=B9s new patent law. "The new changes to the patents law
are a gift to multinational pharmaceutical industry - but for people
with HIV and other treatable diseases of poverty, they are a nightmare,"
said Othman Mellouk of Association de Lutte Contre le SIDA (The
Association for the Fight Against AIDS), Morocco.

"Public interest groups working on health are gravely concerned that
India through the Third Patents Amendment Bill and now the Ordinance
will trade away its rights to protect the public health of people who
need access to low-cost, quality generic medicines," said Anand Grover,
director of the Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit.

The activists were part of a group of representatives from 20 countries
who met January 9-10 with Cipla, Ranbaxy, Hetero and Strides to address
the impact of the new Patents Law, as well as pricing policy in domestic
and export markets and the development of new generic AIDS medicines.
"India promised to implement its WTO obligations in a manner that
protects public health and promotes access to medicines for all," said
Asia Russell of Health GAP.  "Unfortunately it appears prepared to break
that promise."

AMTC is a national campaign aimed at creating an environment that will
ensure sustained accessibility and affordability of medicines and
treatment for every individual in India, including access to affordable
Anti-retroviral Therapy for persons living with HIV/AIDS. It consists of
civil society organisations, NGOs, patients groups, healthcare providers
and concerned individuals.