1. Free Trade Agreements and Access to Medicines 15 MILLION BY
2015? Global Fund Partnership Forum, June 2011 Manoj Pardesi,
ITPC-India
2. India: Pharmacy of the Developing World
3. India and TRIPS India had to comply with TRIPS in 2005
Indian Parliament included key health safeguards Indian PLHIV and
health groups have filed patent oppositions to ensure continuing
generic production Lamivudine/zidovudine combination, nevirapine
syrup, tenofovir, darunavir Still key newer ARVs patented:
raltegravir, etravirine Hep-C treatment: pegylated interferon:
$15,000 per person
4. EU-India FTA: making a bad situation worse Negotiations
started in 2007 Complete secrecy EU not known as aggressive on IP
as US However EU-South Korea FTA made public Several TRIPS-plus
provisions Growing concern and vague responses from EU and Indian
government officials
5. What does the EU want? Leaked text in 2009 and 2010 confirm
aggressive TRIPS-plus demands by EU: Patent Term Extension: Patent
term to be greater than 20 years Data Exclusivity: Monopoly on
off-patent medicines Enforcement measures: Public money used to
enforce private rights; hampering judges ability to protect public
health Investment provisions: Allows MNCs to sue Indian government
over health policies and laws
6. Indian groups protest; beaten up DELHI North-East South
7. Activists donate 5 ml blood to get FTA message to Carla
Bruni Global Fund ambassador As of 2009, the USFDA & WHO
Prequalification Programme approved or pre-qualified 31 paediatric
ARV tablets produced by Indian generic manufacturers but only eight
adult FDCs & 14 paediatric ARV tablets produced by non-Indian
& originator manufacturers In 2008, Indian-produced generics
accounted for 91% of paediatric ARV volume. - A lifeline to
treatment: the role of Indian generic manufacturers in supplying
antiretroviral medicines to developing countries. Journal of the
International AIDS Society 2010;13:35.
8. Global Movement
9. MASS RALLY: Groups from India, Nepal,Cambodia, Indonesia,
Thailand, Malaysia in Delhi
10. EU-India FTA: Update Indian Prime Ministers office: Nothing
in FTA beyond TRIPS/domestic law Concern on enforcement measures
(EC trying to argue that it is within Indian law) Investment
provisions (allowing EU MNCs to sue Indian government over health
policies, drug price control, etc.) EC and US bilateral pressure on
India to change domestic law to include TRIPS-plus provisions
outside of FTA India also negotiating FTA with EFTA (Switzerland,
Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein)
11. What if India says no but others countries sign FTAs? India
could produce and export Importing countries can no longer import
EU and US both negotiating FTAs across developing world
12. EU negotiations across AsiaCountry Status Details of FTA
NegotiationsCambodia LDC EU-ASEAN FTAIndia Developing Country
EU-India EFTA-IndiaIndonesia Developing Country EU-ASEAN
EU-Indonesia EFTA IndonesiaLao Peoples Democratic Republic
EU-ASEANMalaysia Developing Country EU-ASEAN EU-MalaysiaMyanmar LDC
EU-ASEANPhilippines Developing Country EU-ASEAN
EU-PhilippinesThailand Developing Country EU ASEAN EU-ThailandViet
Nam Developing Country EU ASEAN EU-Vietnam
13. US re-joins the FTA party Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement: US, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand,
Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. What does the US want: Patents on new
forms of old medicines Exact opposite of Indian law provision
Section 3(d) because of which there are no patents in India on
lamivudine/zidovudine combination, tenofovir and nevirapine syrup
No pre-grant oppositions Exact opposite of Indian law provision
that allows health and PLHIV groups to challenge patent
applications Possible longer terms for patents and for data
exclusivity Investment provisions: Allows US Even developed
countries in companies to sue governments over the deal worried:
Australia, health policies; in particular price New Zealand finding
their control and negotiation mechanisms medical programmes under
are under threat attack
14. Global Fund Statement on FTAs Free Trade Agreements with
the developing world need to take into account that the worlds
major pandemics predominantly affect the poorest people and should
recognize the role of India in supplying quality low-cost medicines
to the developing world, said Professor Kazatchkine. Is it
enough?
15. Bangkok Declaration demand of GF The GLOBAL FUND BOARD to:
call attention to & condemn FTA negotiations that include
TRIPS-plus measures, to direct the Global Fund secretariat to
assess the financial impact of potential trade agreements, share
this analysis publicly, ensure the adoption of procurement systems
that make optimal use of TRIPS flexibilities including encouraging
countries to use compulsory licences to ensure the GFATM does not
pay excessive premiums for patented medicines.
16. Global Fund and IP: A question of transparency Has the
Global Fund ever received letters or threats from patent holders on
their money used for generic procurement? Why not made public? Has
Global Fund ever had to give emergency excess funds for countries
left out of voluntary licences? Why not made public? VLs will leave
out Latin America, China Russia, Middle East, Easter Europe Why
open support for VLs with no concern on restrictive conditions?
Have developed countries held up Global Fund commitments over trade
or investment disputes? Why not made public? German government
actions in Philippines
17. Global Fund and the middle income game Lets get real about
India: 1.4 billion live on less than $2 a day Nearly 40% get pushed
back into poverty because of healthcare spending From my own
experience, those accessing the AIDS programme are poor and lower
middle class and for whom even with the free medicines, the cost of
getting to the ART centre is too much to bear. So-called
middle-income countries are the ones: Struggling with TRIPS since
2005: newer ARVs patented Being left out of voluntary licence
mechanisms Having to pay premium prices under so-called discount
schemes Being left out of the Global Fund?