[Ip-health] WSJ: Awash in Counterfeit Drugs, India May Pay More for Foreign Approval

[Matt Price]

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/05/14/awash-in-counterfeit-drugs-india-may=
-pay-more-for-foreign-approval/?mod=3DWSJBlog

 May 14, 2008, 11:15 am
Awash in Counterfeit Drugs, India May Pay More for Foreign Approval
Posted by Jacob Goldstein

India, a rising star in the global pharma firmament, may be flooded
with counterfeit drugs, the Times of India reports.

The paper cites various estimates that suggest between 5% and 20% of
the medicines sold in the country are fake. The figure should be
easier to pin down soon, after a six-month government study that will
involve undercover investigators picking up 31,000 drug samples around
the country.

In this era of multinational pharma, the problem is global. The OECD
says 75% of fake drugs around the world have origins in India, the
Times says.

The Indian government, which regulates domestic drug prices, may start
offering a premium to companies that have at least one factory
approved by foreign inspectors, the Hindu Business Line reports. That
may improve the situation some. To qualify for the higher payments, a
company would also have to spend at least 5% of revenue on R&D and
employ at least 200 scientists, the Business Line says.

The premium pricing scheme hasn't been approved. But if it goes
through, it may not only cut down on the fake drugs coming out of the
country, but also accelerate Indian pharma's transition from
manufacturing copycats to developing new drugs. That's happening
anyway =97 just this week, Merck and India's Ranbaxy said they'd cut a
deal to collaborate on R&D.

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