India's central role in ARV supply to developing countries

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

The Journal of the International AIDS Society today published a new study

demonstrating the central role Indian generic manufacturers play in supplying

antiretroviral medicines to developing countries. 

The hype and over exaggerated role of “brand name’ Pharmaceutical companies

in enhancing access to ARV in developing countries  stand exposed by this

study.

 

A better understanding of India's role is of particular importance given ongoing

negotiations for bilateral or regional trade agreements that may introduce new

IP obligations that could constrain or restrict generic supply. 

 

Please find the abstract pasted below, and full article available open access

at:

http://www.jiasociety.org/content/pdf/1758-2652-13-35.pdf

 

A lifeline to treatment: the role of Indian generic manufacturers in supplying

antiretroviral medicines to developing countries

 

Waning, Ellen Diedrichsen and Suerie Moon Journal of the International

AIDS Society 2010, 13:35doi:10.1186/1758-2652-13-35

Published: 14 September 2010

Abstract (provisional)

Background

Indian manufacturers of generic antiretroviral (ARV) medicines

facilitated the rapid scale up of HIV/AIDS treatment in developing

countries though provision of low-priced, quality-assured medicines.

The legal framework in India that facilitated such production, however, is

changing with implementation of the World Trade Organization Agreement on

Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and intellectual property

measures being discussed in regional and bilateral free trade agreement

negotiations. Reliable quantitative estimates of the Indian role in generic

global ARV supply are needed to understand potential impacts of such measures on

HIV/AIDS treatment in developing countries.

Methods

We utilized transactional data containing 17,646 donor-funded

purchases of ARV tablets made by 115 low- and middle-income countries

from 2003 to 2008 to measure market share, purchase trends and prices of

Indian-produced generic ARVs compared with those of non-Indian generic and brand

ARVs.

Results

Indian generic manufacturers dominate the ARV market, accounting for

more than 80% of annual purchase volumes. Among paediatric ARV and adult

nucleoside and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor markets,

Indian-produced generics accounted for 91% and 89% of 2008 global purchase

volumes, respectively. From 2003 to 2008, the number of Indian generic

manufactures supplying ARVs increased from four to 10 while the number of

Indian-manufactured generic products increased from 14 to 53.

Ninety-six of 100 countries purchased Indian generic ARVs in 2008,

including high HIV-burden sub-Saharan African countries. Indian-produced generic

ARVs used in first-line regimens were consistently and considerably less

expensive than non-Indian generic and innovator ARVs.

Key ARVs newly recommended by the World Health Organization are three to four

times more expensive than older regimens.

Conclusions

Indian generic producers supply the majority of ARVs in developing

countries. Future scale up using newly recommended ARVs will likely be hampered

until Indian generic producers can provide the dramatic price reductions and

improved formulations observed in the past. Rather than agreeing to

inappropriate intellectual property obligations through free trade agreements,

India and its trade partners - plus international organizations, donors, civil

society and pharmaceutical manufacturers -should ensure that there is sufficient

policy space for Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers to continue their central

role in supplying developing countries with low-priced, quality-assured generic

medicines.