Curing away!
By M.C. Linthoingambee
The value of medicine is growing, and maybe all the tablets that circulate in India are sometimes generic in nature or the original product for which patent was given for with price valuation coming out as a centered issue. An Indian made lens solution called Silk Lens come for Rs. 160 whereas the German made lens solution Baush and Lom come more than Rs. 400. Similarly, a pack of ten 500 mg tablets of Ciprofloxacin cost Rs. 29 in India whereas the price in Pakistan is Rs. 424 and in Indonesia it is Rs. 393 (converted to Indian Rupees). The prices of other pharmaceutical products are also almost in the similar proportion. Getting a Patent is a carefully crafted bargain that encourages both the creation and the public disclosure of new and useful advances in technology, in return for an exclusive monopoly for a limited period of time. The term granted for a patent in India is for 20 years. Patent law here gives the public client sufficient incentive to create and innovate, at the while ensuring that the public have access to the fruits of their endeavors. This clearly demonstrates how patent law can serve public interest. The public interest about the affordability of patent filing have been protected to a great extent which otherwise would have made the innovations lost. The affordability criteria for medicines is a grave concern as we need the market to give more intake on safer and cheaper drugs for curing any ailment or diseases.
In terms of trade there are a few rescue operational provisions mentioned in the law to safely govern the grant of patent and its impact and uses. The Indian Patent Act also deals with the societal impact of giving Compulsory licence under Section 84 in case of a strong cold monopoly. Such conditions comply when there are times that it so happens some big multinational companies gains control of patent protection for a much needed drug and it become inaccessible to a certain class of the society due to its lack of supply. If anything in nature is bound to harm the right of our own citizens after the 3 years term which is given to anyone to whom patent is granted we resort to appointing a third party to fully and effectively utilize the use of the new drug that can be used to cure some harmful disease.
Dr. Yusuf K Hamied, Chairman and Managing Director of Cipla Limited and a leading scientist in his recent Paper `Trading in Death` has made strong observations on the new Indian Patent Law keeping the critical health scenario in India in view:
“The truth is that health in India is in a permanent and perpetual crisis. The disease profile is as follows : 80 million cardiac patients, 80 million afflicted with mental illness, 60 million diabetics, 50 million asthmatics, 50 million hepatitis B cases, and one in three Indians is a latent carrier of TB. The World Bank has said that India will have 35 million HIV cases by 2015, or approximately half of all the AIDS cases in the world. Given these facts, the patent regime in this country should be devised so that the utmost priority is granted to securing the people`s rights of access to affordable and quality healthcare, without monopoly.`
Can India tackle an outbreak like Ebola? With only one public hospital RMNLU equipped with a quarantine facility to be provided to an Ebola patient the issue of public health faces great concerns. With what is considered as one of the greatest recorded outbreak in the history of mankind, India needs to be prepared for the worst. We should learn from Nigeria that acted fast in controlling the outbreak thereby attaining Ebola Free title from the World Health Organizations. We use to say there isn`™t anything a little medicine can`™t fix, that`™s what`™s commonly spoken for today with the evolution of science breaking boundaries like never before. Maybe we have not come up with all the cures but medicine in its distinct field is trying and spending large funds in the field of research and development. With our Right to Life at risk we need strong enforcing mechanisms to get back our right to peace and security. The right to medicine is not spoken for but it is an intended right that every individual must be entitled to. There are laws in India that governs production of medicine under the closure of the Patent Laws in India and the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights commonly known as TRIPS. And as we all are particularly aware of the illegal drugs that surfaces every now and then, we need to come up with a good governance mechanism to provide the world with something with lesser side effects. The value that patent law provides society lies in stimulating original and ingenious activity, motivating the development and commercialization of inventions, encouraging disclosure of information, and allowing for more efficient exploration of prospective inventions.
These is a new world altogether. With the developing increase of medicines, we are still unable to develop a cure for the most commonly arising condition of common cold. Maybe medicine do not have the all the answers for cure but we can still hope and try.