| According to the draft UNCTAD study, there would be certain welfare losses to the Indian consumer under the TRIPS regime. |
| This welfare loss is not only in terms of higher (or lower) drug prices, but also in terms of lesser product variety in the near future, the study said. |
| Responding to the findings of the study, Industry Secretary Ashok Jha said the econometric analyses carried out by the UNCTAD were based on two important assumptions. |
| One, that there was no drug price control order and hence the government had no way to intervene in case of a price rise. Two, there was no compulsory licensing if drug prices increased. |
| "The reality is, however, quite different, as there is a Drug Pricing Control Order and an extensive compulsory licensing regime. Therefore, the conclusion one will arrive at based on the assumptions will be far from accurate," he said. |
| Jha said the Patents Act had clear provisions to protect the interests of the pharmaceuticals and chemical industry as the domestic industry could continue to manufacture patented products even after a patent is granted in respect of mailbox applications, on payment of a reasonable royalty to the patent holder. |
| He also reiterated the point that nearly 97 per cent of the drugs in the market and 100 per cent of all essential drugs were not covered by patents. |
| Jha said the government would today constitute a technical committee comprising legal and field experts to look into the issue of micro-organisms and chemical entities. |
| He said the government was also in the process of framing the revised draft rules and guidelines, defining the scope of patentability. |
| He added that there were few countries in the world that provided for both pre -and post-grant opposition, a provision included in the Patents Act. |
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