India’s IPR laws in place and the US like it

The US pharma sector is happy with India’s intellectual property policy and has welcomed its recent moves on intellectual property, including bringing out a draft policy and sustained engagement. However, the US pharma sector is not quite happy about the fact that India’s pharma sector poses consistent barriers to US companies.

The fact was revealed by a PTI report. It quoted Amiee Aloi, associate vice president, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) saying, “Despite these potentially positive signs and sustained industry engagement, PhRMA and its member companies remain negatively impacted by India's barriers to US trade and investment, including its failure to respect IP rights."
Amiee Aloi said the innovative biopharmaceutical industry's pursuit of secure intellectual property (IP) protections - consistently enforced - aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goals to bring in growth in India through research, innovation and manufacturing.
"The Modi government has also emphasized predictable decision-making, implementation of political commitments, transparency, and good governance - all factors that are consistent with a rules-based government open to dialogue and problem solving in partnership with stakeholders," he added.
At the same time significant unpredictability in IP protection and enforcement in India remain as no progress has been made in terms of meaningful policy change to address the challenges faced by the innovative biopharmaceutical industry in India or in tackling the true barriers to patient access to new medicines, Aloi said.
"On the contrary, four new examples of negative IP decisions in India have been added to the list of roughly twenty products that have had their patent rights undermined in India over the last few years," he said.
According to Michael Schlesinger of International Intellectual Property Alliance, the country will witness a change with new administration and positive indicators that the government recognizes IP as a vital element for India's overall economic future.
"These changes should translate into significant new market opportunities for right holders," Schlesinger said.
(Image: Indiatimes)