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India FTAs & medicines

The expanding universe of IP
26-Apr-2017 The Hindu
Granting data exclusivity for clinical trials would undermine access to medicines.
Switzerland wants stricter intellectual property rules in India that could harm generic drug makers
23-Mar-2017 Scroll.in
Switzerland is pushing for tighter patent protection, data exclusivity and dropping compulsory licencing under a new free trade agreement.
Leaked document: Note by Switzerland on India EFTA TEPA IP Chapter
22-Mar-2017 KEI
In this note, Switzerland is proposing that India agree to broader patentable subject matter, particularly as regards biologic products.
India–EFTA trade talks may make medicines more expensive
22-Mar-2017 MSF
MSF and civil society urge Swiss negotiators not to undermine the ‘pharmacy of the developing world’
RCEP and health: this kind of ‘progress’ is not what India and the world need
28-Feb-2017 The Wire
Concerns remain over the impact of RCEP negotiations on public health and access to medicines.
India should not let Europe undermine its new BIT and TRIPs flexibilities for medicines
27-Feb-2017 Sunday Guardian Live
There is no principled basis for EU’s demand of extending patent protection beyond the period of 20 years.
TPP is dead, but its legacy lives on
10-Feb-2017 The Hindu
The Trans-Pacific Partnership was dead long before Donald Trump signed his executive order. But its damaging aspects, like stringent IP provisions, have just migrated to other agreements
Implementation of Indo-Japan free trade agreement needs to be expedited: Nirmala Sitharaman
10-Jan-2017 Financial Express
The pace of implementation of Indo-Japan free trade agreement needs to be further enhanced in order to exploit the huge potential of the pact, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
India to US: Will not tighten IPR rules beyond TRIPS mandate
21-Oct-2016 Hindu Business Line
India and the US continued to differ on the issue of intellectual property rights (IPR) norms in their bilateral trade and investment policy discussions
Open letter to ambassadors (in India) of RCEP negotiating countries by Delhi Network of Positive People
13-Oct-2016 Don’t trade our lives away
Member countries must consider the impact of RCEP on access to medicines in developing countries
Call to remove IP clauses from trade pact
15-Aug-2016 The Hindu
As the next round of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade talks begin in Vietnam, humanitarian aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières calls for the removal of intellectual property provisions from the agreement
At landmark BRICS meet, India raises public health, pharma sector concerns
25-May-2016 First Post
A high-level panel hosted by India discusses the issues of trade deals that inhibit access to medicines and also limit policy space for governments to legislate in public interest.
Standing up to patent bullying
25-May-2016 The Hindu
The Ministry of Commerce must be cautious of Free Trade Agreements being negotiated with the European Union as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that further strengthen or extend intellectual property (IP) monopolies.
Is India holding the line against another TPP?
20-May-2016 East Asia Forum
Of the RCEP negotiating countries, it is India, rather than China, that has been the most outspoken in opposing US-style trade rules.
New threat against affordable medicines in trade negotiations with India and ASEAN
21-Apr-2016 MSF
Access to affordable medicines could be severely restricted for millions of people around the world under the current proposals in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement?
US industry body says India agreed to not issue ’compulsory’ drug licences
9-Mar-2016 Reuters
India has given private assurances that it will not grant licences allowing local firms to override patents and make cheap copies of drugs by big Western drugmakers.
India-EU FTA talks’ revival likely to be delayed
2-Feb-2016 Live Mint
Deal’s fate rests on ‘talks about talks’ between senior officials as EU demands greater flexibility on imports.
MSF warns on EU/India trade talks
19-Jan-2016 http://www.thepharmaletter.com/arti...
As reported in Indian media, senior officials from the European Commission and India are expected to meet today in Brussels to hold talks on resuming negotiations on the proposed European Union-India free trade agreement.
Unresolved trade pact: India to meet EU in Jan
27-Dec-2015
Months after it called off talks between chief negotiators of the two sides on free trade agreement (FTA) to protest against the ban on sale of around 700 pharma products of a domestic company, India will meet officials from the European Union (EU) later next month to “take stock of the negotiations” on the long-pending FTA.
Will the Trans Pacific Partnership have an impact on Indian pharma industry?
4-Nov-2015 DNA India
Implications of the TPP on the Indian pharma industry might not be entirely clear yet. But there is a need for India to engage in the debate of trade deals and public interest.