Patent Act will not affect drugs export: Kamal Nath

EPP News Bureau - New Delhi

The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Kamal Nath has said that export of drugs from India will not in any way be affected by the amendment to the Indian Patents Act.

‘‘The global market for generic drugs is currently estimated at US $40 billion and the impending expiry of patents on drugs worth US $60 billion during the next five years offers huge opportunity to India,’’ the Minister said while participating in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Session in Davos (Switzerland) on ‘India Meets Doha’ which discussed the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) in the context of the healthcare industry and its implications for India’s research & development (R&D) and intellectual property rights.

Kamal Nath reiterated that the new patents regime would not affect domestic prices as 97 per cent of the drugs in the Indian market were already off-patent, including 350 live-saving essential drugs. ‘‘The 12 ARVs (anti retro-viral drugs) most used for AIDS and manufactured in India, cannot be patented, as they are pre-1995 inventions. India will continue to manufacture, use and export them without hindrance,’’ Kamal Nath stated.

Underlining the possibility of India taking centre stage in drug development in the near future, Kamal Nath stressed that India had a 10 billion dollar pharmaceutical industry, which was the fourth largest in terms of volume and the 13th largest in terms of value.