The Indian pharma industry?s battle with the counterfeit tag that several African and even EU countries had put on its generic medicines could be nearer to a solution.
Paul Orhii, the vice-chair of International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (Impact)?the global organisation that combats such drugs, told Indian industry and government officials on Tuesday he would highlight the concerns expressed by India and Brazil at the world body.
Orhii, who is also the director general of the Nigerian drug regulator, said his country would definitely exclude ?patent? issues from the definition of counterfeit drugs.
The proposed definition of counterfeit by Impact, according to domestic pharma players, leaves ample scope for open interpretations that could be misused by countries to target emerging generic players, by terming them illegal.
Such assurance at this point from the Nigerian drug regulator basically means that the concept of generic drugs would not be mixed up with that of counterfeit or spurious drugs and the business interest of Indian generic industry in the Nigerian market would be safe.
Indian pharma exports to the West African country have grown by 300% in last three four years to cross Rs 900 crore, according to official estimates. From Nigeria?s point of view, India figures among the top two pharma exporters and the country depends on exports for fulfilling around 60% of its drug needs. Africa is an important and growing market for the Indian pharmaceutical industry. It accounts for about 15% of India?s total drugs exports of over Rs 30,000 crore a year.
Orhii is here to hold consultations with Indian officials and industry following the seizure last June of fake drug shipments originating from China with ?Made in India? labels.
Impact, comprising of 193 World Health Organisation member-states, was established in 2006 to build coordinated networks across nations for combating counterfeiting.
The Indian government and the generic industry have been opposing the definition of ?counterfeit drugs? at Impact that seeks to include ?trademark violations? as ?counterfeit? cases. The Indian government has said that such an interpretation of the definition would adversely affect the interests of generic drug exporters from India.
Additionally, Orhii said that NAFDAC had initiated a number of steps to upscale its anti-counterfeiting efforts. These include strengthening of staff capacity building through training and re-training of staff in regulatory control and management functions, and international collaboration on use of cutting-edge technology for on-the-spot detection of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Nigeria.