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| ISID organised a Policy Roundtable on “Product Patents in the Pharmaceutical Sector in India: A Reflection on 20 Years” on May 30, 2025. The discussion revisited the significant policy shift of 2005, when India transitioned from a process patent regime to product patent protection in alignment with the WTO’s TRIPS agreement—an event that reshaped the pharmaceutical landscape by impacting innovation, affordability, and industry competitiveness. The roundtable, chaired by Prof Nagesh Kumar, Director, ISID, brought together experts to reflect on the implications of two decades of product patent protection. Eminent speakers included Mr Arun K Pradhan, Advisor, CDSCO, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India; Prof Ruchi Sharma, IIT Indore; and, Mr Bharat Shah, President, Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA). Distinguished panellists were Ms Kalpana Jaswal, Associate Vice President, Sun Pharma; Ms Archana Jatkar, Associate Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance; Mr Gopakumar G Nair, Head, Gopakumar Nair Associates; Mr Gopakumar KM, Senior Researcher and Legal Advisor, Third World Network; and Dr Reji K Joseph, Associate Professor, ISID. They shared diverse perspectives on how the patent regime has influenced innovation, access to medicines, and policy priorities, concluding with a Q&A session on the way forward. |
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| The year 2005 marked a significant turning point for India’s pharmaceutical sector with the introduction of product patent protection, in compliance with the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This transition ended India’s earlier regime that allowed only process patents, which had enabled the domestic industry to thrive as a global supplier of affordable generic medicines.
Two decades later, it is timely to critically examine the impact of this shift. How has the product patent regime influenced pharmaceutical innovation in India? Has it altered access to medicines scenario in the country? What has been its effect on the strategies of Indian pharmaceutical firms? And what policy challenges and opportunities lie ahead in balancing innovation incentives with public health imperatives? This Policy Roundtable aims to bring together distinguished experts from the government, academia, industry, and law to reflect on these issues. 📅 Date: Friday, 30 May 2025 |