Big Pharma's Patent Push ; Generic Drugs Will Continue to Dominate the Indian Pharma Market Over the Next Five Years, but Multinational Companies Are Lobbying to Shape Patent Laws to Protect Their Profitability Over the Long Term. How Far Will They Succeed?

Summary

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Now we know how long it takes for Chemicals & Fertilizer Minister Ram Vilas Paswan to lose his patience--after waiting two months, he shot off a letter, late last month, to Cabinet colleague and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who heads the Group of Ministers (GoM) set up to examine the pharmaceutical policy. Reason: Pawar has held only a single meeting since its inception. This may not be accidental. The GoM was a result of the Cabinet's unwillingness to go along with Paswan's regressive proposal to expand the scope of price regulation in the pharma industry--from the current level of 20 per cent to 32 per cent, according to government estimates. The private sector's estimates are much higher; it says the figure is as high as 70 per cent. The impasse also reflects the industry's ability to unite and lobby against a policy that promotes regulation and control. "The attempt by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers to increase the span of price control on drugs in an intrusive manner is an area of concern," laments Ramesh Adige, Executive Director, Gobal-Corporate Affairs & Communications, Ranbaxy. "Today, the Indian pharma industry is at an inflection point and such a move will only be detrimental to its growth."

Beyond this issue, multinational pharma majors like Pfizer, Novartis and Eli Lilly, who control about 28 per cent of the Rs 35,000 crore market, don't see eye to eye with domestic players like Ranbaxy Laboratories and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. So, it's not surprising that they have made little headway in convincing the government on issues ranging from patents to profit margins (See What They Want).

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Big Pharma's Patent Push ; Generic Drugs Will Continue to Dominate the Indian Pharma Market Over the Next Five Years, but Multinational Companies Are Lobbying to Shape Patent Laws to Protect Their Profitability Over the Long Term. How Far Will They Succeed?

Says Ranjit Shahani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Novartis India: "The patent law in India is not fully compliant with internationally accepted best practices; for one, there is no clear definition of patentability." The Swiss drug major is currently contesting certain sections of the patent law in the Madras High Cour...

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