I spoke immediately with that tireless crusader and one man army that goes by the name of DG Shah (Chairman of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, an association of India’s leading generic companies) and it now turns out that none of these companies had ever expressed this sentiment. Shah informs us that all the relevant head honchos (Glen Saldanha et al) have again reaffirmed their commitment to the IPA position paper, which we have now uploaded on the SpicyIP website. This paper opposes “data exclusivity” of any form.
I then spoke with the FE reporter in question, BV Mahalakshmi, who claims that her primary source for this story was a very senior OPPI official. And that her original story which contained more details and more sources had been chopped up by an editor. Prashant’s earlier blog post covering the FE article had rightly noted this lack of citation of any source for the story.
OPPI (Orgn of Pharma Producers of India) represents the interests of drug originators and is dominated by Western multinational pharmaceutical firms. If what Mahalakshmi states is indeed true, was OPPI attempting to create mischief by leaking this falsehood in the midst of a highly contentious India EU FTA negotiation? Or was this a case of genuine belief that our generic biggies were interested in risking sanction under section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, a provision that criminalises an attempt to commit suicide?
