NEW
DELHI, July 7 (Reuters) - India has promised not to link a proposed trade deal
with the European Union with limiting its production of generic HIV/AIDS drugs,
the United Nations said on Thursday, giving hope to millions of infected
patients but underlining the hurdles for the controversial pact.
The EU and India
began negotiations in 2007 on a free-trade agreement which could generate
two-way trade annually worth about $134 billion. But campaigners, including the
U.N., have voiced concerns over how it could block India`s ability to produce
anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs and prevent the world`s poor from accessing cheaper
treatment.
"The
Government of India reaffirms its full commitment to ensure that quality
generic medicines, including anti-retroviral drugs, are seamlessly available,
and to make them available to all countries," India`s Commerce Minister
Anand Sharma was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Joint United
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
"India will
also use the flexibilities allowed under (the copyright pact) TRIPS, including
the use of compulsory licensing, to ensure that people living with HIV have
access to all life-saving medicines."
Sharma made the
comments in a meeting with UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe, who on
Tuesday told Reuters in an interview that millions of people around the world
would die if the deal blocked India from producing generic medicines.
An estimated 15
million people are eligible for ARVs in low-and middle-income countries, yet
currently only about 6.6 million people have access to treatment. India`s
pharmaceutical industry produces about 86 percent of the first-line cheap
generic drugs, most of whom live in Africa.
Generic ARVs
cost about $137 per person per year, a fraction of the price of patented ARVs
used to treat the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, and are
sold by western pharmaceutical firms, say experts.
LIFE SAVER
Two-way trade
between India and its biggest trading partner, the EU -- touched $92.2 billion
in 2009 in goods and services, but the figure could immediately rise to $134
billion (100 billion euros) a year and exceed $237 billion by 2015 if the free
trade agreement goes through.
One of the key
disagreements has been between western drug makers, who want greater protection
of intellectual property rights, and companies, including those in India, which
make cheaper copies -- a life-line for patients who cannot afford the more
expensive medicines.
The talks on the
pact have run into differences, such as over EU efforts to link it with
sensitive topics such as India`s performance on climate change and reducing
child labour, and over greater market access.
Complications
have also arisen over the possibility of the proposed pact leading to easier
immigration rules for Indians seeking to find work in Europe, particularly
Britain which has capped immigration.
The current
EU-India trade deal includes proposals that could delay or restrict competition
from generic medicines by extending patent terms, requiring data exclusivity
and tightening border enforcement rules.
Such moves could
drive up prices for India`s anti-retroviral treatments, limit dosage options
and delay access to newer and better drugs, said a U.N. report in September
last year.
Sidibe welcomed
the promise made by India, adding emerging economies had a key role to play in
stemming the disease which was first detected three decades ago.
"India,
together with Brazil, South Africa, China and Russia, must forge an alliance
with other high-income countries to ensure that no single person in the world
dies because they could not afford to buy life-saving medicines or health
care," said Sidibe in a statement. (Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and
Sanjeev Miglani)