Row breaks out between India's OPPI and generic drugmakers

Sections of Indian pharmaceutical companies and health groups have expressed concern over a move by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) for an information dissemination mechanism that could allegedly subvert efforts by Indian manufacturers to release generic drugs, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent.

The concerns relate to a proposal by the Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), a body representing foreign drugmakers, to the apex drug regulatory authority to make public all pending applications for drugs through an information portal.

The All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a consortium of patients’ rights advocates, and the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), a body of domestic drugmakers, said making available pending applications would arm foreign companies with information to launch "pre-emptive patent litigation to block generics" and could undermine access to affordable medicines in India.