India’s stand on IPRs prioritises public health in trade deals: GTRI

India’s approach underscores a commitment to balancing innovation with public health needs, adopting a flexible interpretation of TRIPS to align with its developmental goals, and preventing the establishment of unfair monopolies, especially in the pharmaceutical sector - GTRI paper

New Delhi: India’s stand on intellectual property rights (IPRs) and pharma issues in proposed trade agreements balances innovation with public health needs, ensures availability of affordable medicines and promotes growth of generic medicine industry, a GTRI report said on Friday.

Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that by opposing demands of developed nations on issues like ‘data exclusivity’ and ‘patent linkage’ in free trade agreements (FTAs), India ensures that generic drug manufacturers get greater market access and cost of life-saving medicines gets reduced significantly.

“India’s approach underscores a commitment to balancing innovation with public health needs, adopting a flexible interpretation of TRIPS to align with its developmental goals, and preventing the establishment of unfair monopolies, especially in the pharmaceutical sector,” the GTRI paper said.

It added that this stance reflects a broader effort to protect traditional knowledge and ensure the availability of affordable medicines, addressing significant global challenges in healthcare and IPRs. The issue assumes significance as developed countries always pressure developing nations like India to take commitments in an FTA on IPR matters over and above agreed under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

In trade parlance, it is called TRIPs-plus. TRIPs agreements play a crucial role in shaping these rights globally, ensuring fair protection for innovator companies while also allowing for the flourishing of generic drug industries.

“India’s stance reflects its commitment to balancing these interests and fostering economic ties through trade agreements... India’s always stand against TRIPS-plus provisions. India has consistently safeguarded the interests of its domestic generic drug industry in FTAs,” GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.

When countries sign TRIPs agreements, they commit to modifying their laws related to patent, copyright, trade mark and other relevant laws to align with TRIPs provisions. In India, amendments were made to the 1970 Patent Act in 2005 and the Copyright Act in 2010 to accommodate TRIPs requirements, it said.

FTA proposals from developed countries include TRIPS-plus provisions on data exclusivity, patent term extensions, ever-greening of patents, broader patentability criteria, and patent linkage. “India has taken a firm stance against such provisions,” it added. Data exclusivity involves granting the originator company exclusive rights over the clinical trial data submitted for regulatory approval of a new product. Grant of data exclusivity would require Indian generic companies to conduct their own clinical trials in India even if the drug is already approved elsewhere.