UK trade proposals will be ‘catastrophic’ for patients globally, campaigners warn

Date: 7 August 2023
Campaigns: Pharma, Trade

 

Ahead of the UK-India trade negotiations set to continue this week (Mon Aug 7), Tim Bierley, pharmaceuticals campaigner at Global Justice Now said:

Despite the warnings of doctors, health experts and campaigners from both countries, the UK is still trying to impose disastrously restrictive patent laws on India. These measures would trash Indian citizens’ right to appeal dodgy drug patents and allow big pharma to keep medicines prices sky-high for much longer.

“Indian campaigners have this year used their crucial but threatened democratic rights to ensure people with drug-resistant tuberculosis have access to critical medication at a much lower cost. The measures the UK is trying to ram through would make this kind of victory for patients over profit extremely unlikely.

“The UK’s attempt to hamstring India’s ability to produce generic medicines would also be disastrous for health systems globally, including the NHS, which relies heavily on Indian firms’ ability to produce affordable medicines quickly. Any deal that waters down India’s patent laws would be a boon for profiteering pharma companies – at the direct and catastrophic expense of patients globally.”

 

ENDS

 

 

Photo: Shutterstock/oleschwander