EU-India Free Trade Agreement may hinder access to essential medicines

India`s role in access to affordable generic medicines

In recent years, India has become "the pharmacy of the developing world". Ninety-two percent of people living with HIV on treatment in low- and middle-income countries currently use generic antiretrovirals (ART), mostly manufactured in India. However, the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the European Union threaten this state of play.

For example, Medicines Sans Frontieres (MSF) buys 80 percent of its AIDS medicines from Indian generic companies. Ninety percent of AIDS drugs provided to 13 countries by PEPFAR - the U.S. global AIDS program - are generics, the overwhelming majority of them also produced in India. The public health benefits obviously extend far beyond India.

EU-India bilateral Free Trade Agreement

The European Union is presently negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with India that includes intellectual property rights (IPR) provisions that could seriously hinder access to essential medicines: Some provisions of the Agreement seek to impose higher standards of intellectual property protection that would limit, and in some cases completely block, generic competition. These measures could result in a great increase in the price of essential medicines and greater state expenditure on health. With regards to the above mentioned, MSF has written to European Commissioner for Trade Karel de Gucht urging him to ensure that access to ART combination pills – which the group says have "revolutionised" HIV treatment – is not curtailed under the FTA. They further demand the following:
 Data Exclusivity,
 Patent term extensions, and
 Enforcement and border measures

For more information:

MSF Letter to EC Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht

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