MSF launches global campaign: 'Europe! Hands off our Medicine' as European negotiators arrive in India

As the European Commission (EC) resumes negotiations on a trade agreement with India that could block access to life-saving generic medicines, the international medical humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is launching a global campaign to stop Europe’s multiple attempts to restrict access to these medicines for patients across the developing world.

“We depend on access to affordable generic medicines like those produced in India to treat all kinds of diseases. We buy 80% of our AIDS medicines from India - medicines that keep 160,000 people alive today,” said Unni Karunakara, president of MSF’s International Council. “On their behalf, we cannot remain silent as Europe works to close the door on every aspect of drug supply - the production of a generic medicine, its registration, and its transportation to patients in other parts of the world. So today we are launching a campaign demanding ‘Europe! HANDS OFF our medicine’,” he warned.

The India-EU agreement is just one of many attacks on generic medicines currently being undertaken by the EC, says MSF. Through other bilateral trade agreements around the world, Europe is threatening the production of safe, effective and affordable medicines by demanding tougher intellectual property provisions than anything required under international law. Europe is also a driving force in the secret negotiations for an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, where it is leading the push for measures that would put limits on the generic production of medicines.