Intelligent ruling

The Delhi High Court order in the MSD vs Glenmark case has signalled positive news for the research-based industry and the scientific community. The industry welcomed the court’s observation that highly contested commercial cases require immediate attention and disposal, to ensure a “suitable commercial environment which is vital to the national interest”.

India’s commitment to strengthen its innovation climate and build a robust intellectual property (IP) rights regime has been in focus recently. The Centre has started a thorough review of the country’s IPR regime to ‘nurture the IP culture and address all facets of the IP system including legal, administrative and enforcement infrastructure, human resources, institutional support system and international dimensions’ with the objective of crafting a National IPR Policy.

More to gain This policy will be an important step towards building an IP regime in India that has the potential to support a number of economic and socio-cultural benefits. One of its stated objectives is ‘to guide and enable all creators and inventors to realise the potential for generating, protecting and utilising IP which would contribute to wealth creation, employment generation and business development’. It also aims to ‘foster predictability, clarity and transparency in the entire IP regime in order to provide a secure and stable climate for stimulating inventions and creations’.

Economic research consistently confirms that developing countries benefit tremendously from respecting IPR. Strong patent laws can encourage, stimulate and sustain innovation in pharmaceuticals. Effective implementation of these laws, through fast-tracked cases, ensures a commercial environment that protects the innovator and rewards innovation.

A strong innovation-friendly eco-system can encourage foreign direct investment and technology transfer, stimulate research and benefit India with a more progressive healthcare system and newer and better medicines.

It is a myth that patents block access to life-saving drugs. Only 5 per cent of medicines from pharma multinationals are patent-protected in India and, where such products are beyond the reach of Indian patients, companies have robust access programmes to ensure these drugs are available free or for a fraction of the original price. Since peaking in the 1990s, cancer death rates have declined nearly 22 per cent. Nearly 83 per cent of survival gains in cancer are attributable to new treatments, including medicines.

Pro-innovation policies help advance the development of innovative medicines for Indian patients. We still have huge unmet medical needs and therapeutic areas that need to be addressed with innovation-driven cures. Clearly, there has to be access to medicines for everybody but, equally, if there isn’t a return on investment, how will innovators justify investing in new medicines? A 2014 Tufts study says the average cost of developing a drug stands at $2.6 billion. Protecting IP will help bring new solutions for rare diseases and new medicines to save and improve lives. More than affordability, the barrier to access is the inability to pay out-of-pocket and the lack of insurance cover.

The Prime Minister’s vision to transform India into a global manufacturing hub presents huge potential for the pharmaceutical sector. However, the success of the ‘Make in India’ campaign will depend on how quickly India can strengthen its IP regime.

The writer is Director General, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India

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