Pharmaceuticals

The unsound argument in favour of prescription of medicines in their so-called generic version as a panacea for drug price reduction is discursive in nature and, hence, untenable. Such a recommendation by the Prime Minister of India may discount the drug cartel on account of their unethical trade practices, while disowning the government’s responsibility towards effective drug price control.

After 2010, two Indian generic companies started local plants in South Africa, attempted to partake in the morally loaded politics of antiretroviral therapy, and complied with broader affirmative action policies there. This article analyses a variety of sources and tries to lay bare the nexus between drug manufacturers, the state, and civil society organisations and tries to contextualise them in the anthropological theories of public health and humanitarian aid.

Major changes can be expected in the Indian pharmaceuticals industry from 2005 due to the agreement on TRIPS, under which India will be required to introduce product patents for pharmaceutical products. This will likely lead to sharp increases in the prices of newly patented drugs. Although the TRIPS agreement may also lead to increased research on diseases common in developing countries, these benefits can be obtained in alternative ways, and without high costs. Thus, the TRIPS agreement is not in the national interest and should be renegotiated.