EU Trade Deal May Curb Affordable Drug Supply

As India prepares to seal a sweeping trade and investment deal with the European Union (EU) in April, civil society groups are campaigning to limit the agreement's repercussions within the local generic drug industry here upon which millions of people around the globe depend.

The deal, in the making since 2006, is between the world’s largest economy and a developing country that is about eight percent of its GDP size.

"We hope that Indian negotiators will withstand pressures and ensure that the existing intellectual property rights regime is not tampered with to allow extension of patents, especially as a number of drugs are going off patent, this year," said Mira Shiva, a member of the All India Drug Action Network.

India’s commerce secretary, Rahul Khullar, is expected in Brussels Apr. 6-8 to sign a the agreement.

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