The Hindu Business Line : `Give priority to drug affordability'

"PATIENTS come first. Patents next," said Mr William F. Haddad, Chairman and CEO of Biogenerics Inc and the United States Research and Development Corporation, who was here recently.

Championing the cause of drug affordability, Mr Haddad — popularly known as the father of the US generics industry — said that on January 1, when the products patent regime came into effect, "a perfect storm of political intrigue, corporate greed and a lack of political will congealed into a reality that will systematically deny not only India but two-thirds of the world's population access to life saving essential medicines".

Pandemics and diseases that can be controlled by new medicines will be denied to India and other developing and under-developed nations because competition is no longer possible.

"India and China, under national laws that produced these medicines without infringing patents, were the principal suppliers of essential medicines to poor nations who are now confused about where they will be able to obtain these medicines from," he added.

He also squashed the claims made by the Government and other organisations around the world that over 90 per cent of the medicines on the WHO list are off patent.

"Further under TRIPS, most of the sections of the Ordinance are not required by the WTO. The multinational pharmaceutical corporations are convincing countries around the world, including India, that this TRIPS Plus regulation is required," Mr Haddad said.

Pointing out that HIV/AIDS is a growing epidemic, Mr Haddad said that the availability of cheap anti-retroviral drugs is crucial for the patient.

Almost every AIDS organisation in the world has written to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to stand tall and resist the pressures to change its policies, he added.

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