sickular hypocrisy

Pharma vs. the third world

Big Pharma’s greed and the Third World’s Need

I had written some time ago on the battle that is raging between Big Pharma and the generic drug makers of India, and other developing countries such as Brazil. Like most economic battles, this fight does not get as much coverage or mention in the mainstream media. I too have been guilty of not being able to spend much time on this, but on occasion do come across some good information.

Generic drugs from India and a few other developing countries are a boon to most of the third world that is incapable of paying the high price of drugs produced by Big Pharma. In this article written by a Professor Lofgren in a blog, pharmagossip, the Professor writes on this tussle between Big Pharma and the generic drug industry of India and Brazil.

I have always maintained that Intellectual Property Rights are a tool with which the western organizations have controlled the flow of technology and new ideas in the third world, and that is the case with the pharmaceutical industry as well.

Arguably, billions go into developing a new drug or vaccine, and after its intense animal testing and human testing (most likely third world guinea pigs) a drug or vaccine finally reaches the people. Needless to say, the billions have to be recuperated by the pharmaceutical company, which is usually a member of the Big Pharma block sitting in a developed country.

There are no two ways of looking at the fact that in the end, pharma is business, and for a company that has spent so much on developing a drug, the returns should be the maximum. So a third world patient, or even a middle class or poor first world patient, would be denting the high profitability of this pharma company by paying for a much cheaper generic version of the drug.

This is where IPR come in. The first world maintains that knowledge is property, and if anybody has to use it, it has to pay for it, and this includes information and products that can save the lives of millions, and have been saving the lives of millions. And when the developed world has the power of “globalization” behind it, can it be far behind from arm twisting the economies of the third world into accepting its yet another rule of doing business?

As the blog post I referenced above explains,

India is often called the pharmacy of the developing world, which is no great surprise as more than 50% of its $10bn annual generic medicine production is exported.

But the domestic drug industry behind India's role as global pharmacist stands to emerge rather poorly from the free trade agreement (FTA) that Europe is proposing for India. In late-stage negotiations over the terms of the long-awaited agreement, the EU is calling for intellectual property rights enforcement that goes well beyond India's obligations as a member of the World Trade Organisation and would make it all but impossible for generic drug manufacturers in the country to continue in their present structure. This could delay the introduction of cheaper medicines in India and elsewhere at a time when the global financial crisis has already put the squeeze on life-saving medicines across the world (last year the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria cancelled its 11th funding round due to the crisis).

Yet protests on the streets of Delhi against the unfair terms of the EU-India FTA have been little noticed in the west, where such agreements are increasingly being promoted as a route out of domestic crises.

In a recent editorial, however, the former EU high representative for foreign and security policy, Javier Solana, all but admits that a similar agreement that Europe is tying up with Peru and Colombia may be "denying their weaker citizens [human] rights in favour of the interests of business".

In India, such fears are perilously close to being realised, because the EU-India FTA negotiations are not the only way in which the health of Indian citizens is coming under attack from Europe. In an effort to boost falling profit margins in the west, and to prise open more profitable markets elsewhere, European pharmaceutical companies are also chipping away at India's judicial system.

Next month, the supreme court of India will hear final arguments in a long-running case between Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis and the Indian government. Novartis is seeking extended intellectual property protection for a marginally modified anti-cancer drug, Glivec, for which the original patent has run out. This is a practice known as evergreening, seen by many as an unfair way for pharmaceutical companies to maintain artificially high drug prices in developing markets. That is certainly the view of the Indian government, which, in 2005, inserted a clause into its intellectual property law deliberately intended to prevent the practice.

[I am a layman, but I do know that when global rules of trade are made, they are made keeping the best interest of the developed world in mind. The rules of IPR, and patents were made and accepted by all. So after a patent runs out, it becomes common property and as in the case of drugs, companies can produce the drug without paying any royalties to the founder. Aspirin, for example, is one such drug that is manufactured around the world in multiple formats. But as the blogpost says, Big Pharma seeks extended IPR protection so prices remain high. As the post discusses, the developed world’s governments are staunchly standing with their Big Pharma brethren. ]

That is certainly the view of the Indian government, which, in 2005, inserted a clause into its intellectual property law deliberately intended to prevent the practice.

That clause has proven to be a literal lifesaver many times since, and it ensured that Novartis's original case was thrown out of court in 2006. But Novartis has filed new litigation in an attempt to breach India's legal defences. The final ruling is next month and there is every chance Novartis may succeed. If it does, other pharmaceutical companies will be able to impose higher prices on drugs in India too.

The Novartis case coincides with a third major assault on India's pharmaceutical industry: the final spear in a triple-pronged attack on its generic drug manufacturers by the west.

This involves the attempt by German pharmaceutical company Bayer to revoke the recent granting of a compulsory licence for an Indian firm, Natco Pharma. The licence was to produce a cheaper version of its anti-cancer drug Sorafenib. Bayer does not manufacture the drug in India, and imports in such small volumes that only a tiny fraction of potential patients could benefit. For its brand, Sorafenib, Bayer has charged Indian patients about $69,000 for a year of treatment, an unaffordable amount for most Indian households. Under the licence, Natco will sell the same medicine at 3% of this price, while paying a licence fee – and still make a profit.

It is not only Indian patients who stand to suffer from this triple-pronged attack. So, too, will charities such as Médecins Sans Frontières, which relies on Indian generic producers to supply 80% of the antiretrovirals it uses around the world.

In a recent item on Firstpost, it was reported that India may lose the war against Big Pharma, but is likely to open a new front in its fight, a fight, which I believe, should unite the entire third world and it shouldn’t be the battle of India or Brazil or any other developing country alone.

Earlier, taking on the so-called “Big Pharma” head on, India had given a compulsory licence to Natco Pharma to produce Bayer AG’s cancer drug Nexavar.

Compulsory licence allows a generic drug maker to manufacture and sell a copy of the innovator’s drug after paying a royalty.

Multi-national pharma companies had objected to this as they feared the move will set a bad precedent if other developing countries follow in the footsteps of India.

The government’s aim to give free medicines had also cut out the Big Pharma, as the scheme is likely to focus on the generics.

But while India is trying its level best to champion the cause of cheaper drugs, the developed economies are also tightening laws to squeeze low-cost copy-cat medicines.

A report in The Times of India says the multinational companies are lobbying hard with their respective governments to curb export of generics from India and Brazil.

“Not only has the US devised new treaties to challenge generic drugs being shipped from India, the EU has also upped the ante,” according to the report.

A Group of Ministers in the Government looking into the issue has suggested that the price of patented drugs be linked to a per capita income linked reference pricing mechanism.

From the link above,

The committee, headed by an official from the department of pharmaceuticals, has suggested fixing the price of patented drugs by comparing the price at which these drugs are procured by governments in the UK, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand. The committee has recommended that the retail price should be fixed by adjusting it to the per capita income of the country.

Tarceva, a Roche-patented lung cancer drug, costs Rs 1.21 lakh in Australia and France while it costs Rs 35,450 in India, says the report of the committee. But when adjusted for per capita income, which is significantly more in these countries compared with India, the price falls to Rs 10,309 and Rs 11,643, respectively, for both countries (see table).

For patented drugs that have similar alternatives in the market, the committee has said the price of these drugs should be fixed in such a manner that it should not lead to an overall increase in the treatment cost. If the global launch of the patented drug takes place in India, the retail price should be based on the cost of developing the drugs and other factors. At present, prices of patented drugs are unregulated.

The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), the lobby body of multinationals, said the cross-country per capita income-linked proposal is fundamentally flawed and has sought further discussions with the government.

But, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, the representative body of big Indian drugmakers, has supported the reference-based system. IPA said the government should select the developed countries because in these countries, governments foot the healthcare bill and are, therefore, able to negotiate prices better.

There was a news in The Live Mint that the profit outlook of most pharma majors in the developing markets may not be as high as they told their investors, thus adding to the desperation to see that the generic drug makers of the third world are quickly brought under control, even if that means putting medicine out of the reach of millions of poor.

Yes, third world governments will always be taken to be the weaker side when the big corporations of the developed world flex their muscles while being strongly backed by their governments. It is something I am hoping to see change in the coming years, for in today’s globe, its only about making money, and only about economic dominance, and it will do well for most nations fighting it to come together and respond, for the well being of their own people and nation states.

15th August, 2012

Happy Independence Day to India.

I certainly get a feeling that we are living in dark times. India is under assault from all directions, and from within and without. The Government of India has stopped working for the country but only works for its own benefits, the social fabric of this country is weakening, and every section of the society in every corner of the country is living in economic insecurities. These are bad and uncertain times, and I sincerely wish we can pull ourselves together. This country is crying for good leadership right now, and that seems nowhere in sight. I hope our society can wisen up and realize that we only get the government that we deserve.

My wishes to the armed forces and the paramilitary of this great nation. My respect and wishes to the police forces, who have the most thankless job in the country. The politicians abuse them, they are not protected by strong legislation, and are always prevented from doing the right thing.

The bow of INS Delhi. Clicked by me.

The Government of India

caste minister

Now that Pranab Mukherjee has been made the President of India, after an awful mockery of that office during the time of Pratibha Patil, a reshuffle in the cabinet of the Government of India was expected.

P Chidambaram was made the finance minister of India for the third time, and Sushil Kumar Shinde was made the Home Minister. Sushil Kumar Shinde said that he was a dalit and he should be considered for the post because he was a Dalit. When he was made the Home Minister, thanked Sonia Gandhi and the puppet Prime Minister for making him the Home Minister, and thanked the Gandhi family for always caring for the Dalits and minorities.

“"I am in politics for the last 40 years. People from the Dalit community do not generally get the charge of the Home Ministry. But for the first time, Rajiv Gandhi had given a Dalit (Buta Singh) the charge of Home Ministry, and now for the second time, it is under Sonia Gandhi's leadership, that Dr. Manmohan Singh has given me this post," said Shinde.”

It disgusted me to read this. These are the swines that this country manages to vote, and relishes. This is the Government of India we are talking about, but given the brazenness and utter lack of care with which it is being run, it feels like a small family run business.

Like a true politician who has achieved nothing for the country in their tenure as a parasite, Mr. Shinde promises to deliver like he always has. What he has delivered is something voters do not ask. In fact, most voters do not ask generally what politicians have done.

"The Gandhi family has always taken care of the welfare of backward castes. Dalits can also take bigger responsibility. The home ministry is a critical ministry. I have performed in the past and I will again prove through my work as the home minister," Shinde said.

There is a very good cartoon in today’s Mumbai Mirror from Morparia demonstrating exactly what has been going on in this country for the past many years. As I have mentioned, the Government of India is currently a closed loop that is very tightly controlled by the ever elusive and mysterious Sonia Gandhi and her eternal baby Rahul Gandhi, who at 42 is still groomed for something big by his mother. (I guess its okay, Prince Charles has remained a Prince for decades now).

This dearth of talent is definitely not a compulsion as many believe, it is a very deliberate way of running the government where a select few who are loyal and obedient are given the power to do anything.

Both Shinde and Chidambaram come with a lot of baggage, bogged down by allegations of involvement in scams that have grounded UPA 2 for over a year. For Chidambaram, the finance ministry has been a coveted assignment and he had been looking forward to coming home for the last three and a half years. With the economy tanking, the Congress argues that this can hardly be seen as a reward.

If Chidambaram has this 2G baggage, then Shinde carries the burden of the high profile Adarsh Housing scam. This is a bigger problem for the UPA since he is tipped to take over as the Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha. The job, previously held by Mukherjee, needs a lot of coordination with the Opposition parties to build consensus.

The Congress that has been stung by widespread criticism that Shinde has been rewarded with home portfolio on the day when the country suffered its worst power breakdown has retaliated by claiming that it is no reward. “This is a responsibility and not a reward,” said party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury.

As pointed out in a Hindu editorial, the fact that the Ministry of Power continues to function without a permanent minister shows the mental and physical lethargy (which again I believe is by design) they have demonstrated in the last few years.

Moving onto other esteemed personalities in this Sonia Circus, Mr. Raul Vinci/Raul Maino/Rahul Gandhi says he is ready to play a bigger part in the Government and in the Congress party!! You know, any other time this would scare me and worry that the Queen Mother will do anything to establish her son to power, but given that he had led the campaigns of the CONgress party in two states, including Ulta Pradesh, and despite the fraud Gandhi family campaigning as if their lives depended on it, came up short, and way short. Of course, the CONgress minions and old faithful at once rubbished any media comments that the defeats had anything to do with the Royal Prince. Despite the lack of maturity and awareness among the voting masses, and disinterest among the middle class, perhaps Sonia Gandhi will find it tough to establish Rahul as the PM given that this is not a monarchy after all.

However, I believe the CONgress faithful, and would love to see the Gandhi’s actually get out of their secret compartments and if they want to rule this country, not rule it in secret, and lead from the front. That may be asking too much, and more importantly, they probably have other plans already.