[Ip-health] PharmaTimes- EU "pushing" India over generics in "secret" trade talks

[Terri - Louise Beswick]

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EU "pushing" India over generics in "secret" trade talks
04 February 2010
The European Union (EU) and India have resumed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) t=
alks, amid claims that the EU is trying force India to accept pharmaceutica=
l patent terms that go beyond world trade agreements.

The eighth round of the FTA talks which took place in Mumbai last week have=
 been strongly criticised in India for their secrecy and lack of consultati=
on with the national parliament and state governments. The text of the draf=
t agreement has not been published, nor have any details of how India's con=
cerns over a range of issues including intellectual property protection (IP=
P) were addressed in the meetings.

However, local sources say the EU negotiators have called on India to accep=
t 20-year patent extensions - a five-year increase on current levels - and =
data exclusivity provisions that go further than those included in the Worl=
d Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property r=
ights (TRIPs) agreement.

In the new European Commission, which is due to start work this month, Comm=
issioner-designate for Trade Karel De Gucht has already emphasised the need=
 for trade policy to "work for people," both in the EU and especially in de=
veloping countries. At his pre-appointment hearing before the European Parl=
iament's Committee on International Trade, Prof de Gucht - a former Deputy =
Prime Minister of Belgium and European Commissioner for Development and Hum=
anitarian Aid - said that, in addition to economic benefits, trade policy c=
an promote "European values" such as human rights, social justice and the p=
rotection of the environment.

Asked by UK Labour Member of the European Parliament (MEP) David Martin if =
he will put an end to EU policies which stop generics getting to customers =
in developing countries, Prof De Gucht replied that while access to medicin=
es should be a fundamental right, IPP must also be respected.

He pledged to "take care" that the finalized EU/India FTA would not impede =
free trade in generics but would not rule out the fact that "for specific p=
roducts there can be specific problems" which can result in a need for IPR.

"I believe it is possible to have specific provisions for specific products=
, which can be compensated for by parallel imports," he told Mr Martin.

Mr Martin is chairman of the Parliament's new working group on innovation, =
access to medicines and poverty-related diseases, which was launched in Bru=
ssels on January 27. At the launch meeting, Mr Martin stated that the data =
exclusivity provisions reportedly contained within the draft EU/India FTA a=
re "not just bad news for India" but also "bad news for those countries to =
which generic medicines from India are provided."

"Thousands of men, women and children with treatable diseases die every wee=
k in developing countries because the medicine they need is simply too expe=
nsive. At the same time customs officers, following requests by pharmaceuti=
cal companies fearing patent infringement, are seizing perfectly legitimate=
 generic drugs destined for these countries" he says.

"It is vital that the EU adopts appropriate measures to improve access to e=
xisting medical tools and stimulate R&D into methods for treating the suffe=
ring poor of developing countries," Mr Martin told the working group's laun=
ch.

India is "the pharmacy of the developing world," said Tido von Schoen-Anger=
er, a spokesman for the international aid agency M=E9decins Sans Fronti=E8r=
es (MSF). This agency is working with the new parliamentary group which, he=
 said, will provide a counterbalance to the pharmaceutical industry's influ=
ence over the Commission, adding that this has been particularly in evidenc=
e in the EU/India FTA talks, according to a report from Intellectual Proper=
ty Watch.

Negotiations for the FTA began in 2007, and both sides are reportedly anxio=
us to have the deal concluded by the end of this year. In 2009, a study on =
the agreement by the European Parliament's Trade Committee called for "a co=
mprehensive, ambitious and balanced" deal, encouraged India to develop "app=
ropriate" data protection legislation and welcomed the nation's commitment =
to strong IPP and the use of TRIPS flexibilities to meet certain public hea=
lth obligations.

"Once again, we should all be aware that too many obligations on public hea=
lth can often leave citizens in poorer countries unable to access medicines=
, because there is no incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop med=
icines for those countries," the Committee report added.

And a report by IP expert Carlos Correa, commissioned last year by Oxfam Ge=
rmany and the Church Development Service, warns that the higher IPP standar=
ds sought by the EU negotiators for the FTA are "explicit... despite the Eu=
ropean Parliament's repeated calls on the European Commission not to seek T=
RIPS-plus standards of protection in developing countries, as they may affe=
ct access to medicines."

By Lynne Taylor

http://www.pharmatimes.com/WorldNews/article.aspx?id=3D17336