"Balanced, Rational Patent Law" Called for In India

India has a case to reopen the whole issue of intellectual property rights, claimed delegates attending an international conference held in New Delhi this month to look at intellectual property rights and other emerging issues from the World Trade Organization (see also pages 24 and 25).

"India is almost self-sufficient in respect of drugs," D B Mody, president of the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association, told the Marketletter in an interview at the conference. He said that the indigenous industry produces 99% of formulations and 85% of bulk drug requirements for the country.

Mr Mody said that before 1970, the date of the patent legislation that exists in India at the moment, Indian drug companies only held a 4% stake in the drug market. "Today the national sector commands over 65% of the market," he said.