Digital Rights Network

On 22 March the Indian parliament passed a bill that makes it illegal to produce generic versions of medecines. Until now, India has only recognised patents in industrial processes, which meant that reverse-engineered drugs, for example anti-retrovirals used to alleviate HIV and AIDS, could be produced at a fraction of the cost - around $200 as opposed to the $15,000 charged in the West.

The Indian generic pharmaceuticals industry was flourishing: it is estimated, for instance, that India supplied 60% of all low-cost AIDS drugs world-wide. But in order to comply with TRIPS agreements mandated by the WTO, which aim for a harmonisation of intellectual property rights across the world, India has had to toughen up its laws.

Although the short-term worst-case scenario has been averted by a clause stipulating that generics currently being produced can continue to be manufactured (now with a license payable to the patent owner), health professionals are fearful of the long-term consequences of the new law.

Business commentators and pharmaceutical companies welcomed the decision, saying that it opened the way for India to become a global hub of medical R&D, exploiting its huge reserves of cheap scientific talent.