Ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit to India, health activists and civil society groups have urged the Narendra Modi Government to ensure that India’s pro-poor patent laws are not “weakened”.

With trade and intellectual property (IP) rights featuring prominently on the agenda of Obama’s India visit, civil society groups said they fear that “rising pressure” from the US to “dilute India’s IP regime” may lead to denial of affordable medicines to the poor.

About 40 civil society organisations, patient groups and community networks said they plan to circulate a global petition rejecting US actions that “could jeopardise India’s position as the pharmacy of the developing world''.

“The petition has been supported by over 75,000 individuals who will be directly affected by changes in India’s IP policies,” they said in a release.

'Out of Cycle Review'

The release ​noted that within days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return from the US in September 2014, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched an “Out of Cycle Review” of India’s IP regime, “which selectively targeted the areas of concern for US businesses''.

“The institutionalisation of bilateral engagement on IP-related issues provides the US government a platform to push the commercial interests of its corporations” Amit Sengupta, convenor of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, said in a release.

Loon Gangte, President, Delhi Network of Positive People, said: “Patent safeguards under the Indian law are key to preserving the lifeline of millions of people living with HIV, who are dependent on cheap generic drugs from India,” adding that over 80 per cent of ARVs used in developing countries are supplied by India.

Anand Grover, senior counsel, Supreme Court, and Director, Lawyers Collective, was of the view that the draft national IP policy, released by the Modi Government’s IP think-tank was “out of sync with India’s ground realities and development needs''.

Dinesh Abrol, convenor of the National Working Group on Patent Laws, said: “US demands have been crafted with the intention of imposing stronger IP norms on India…and the government must not only reject the US demands but act proactively to address current public health challenges.”

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