Pharmaceutical Companies: Killing us Slowly

I did some background research on the Net. My surfing revealed that Indian firms like Ranbaxy, Cipla and others were manufacturing it. However, I could not ascertain the price. So, to get specific information, I went to a nearby chemist and found that generic versions were available and that the prices were negotiable. But at Rs 70 per capsule of Imatinib 100 mg — though not exactly cheap — the price gap between the Novartis product and the Indian variants was yawning. Glivec is priced at Rs 1,20,000 per month by Novartis, when generic versions manufactured by Indian companies are available for Rs 8,000.

The drugs were eventually procured and found their way to my friend's patient in China and one wonders when such life-saving drugs will be in the reach of the common man. It is in respect of this drug, Glivec, that Novartis has filed a suit, alleging violation of the patent laws and the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement, in the Chennai High Court. As a life-saving drug, it is important that the product be available at prices that are affordable.

The campaign against cheaper access to drugs, initially highlighted by the high cost of anti-retro virals, has now spread to other drugs, with global religious leaders having joined worldwide demands that the company withdraw the case in India. These include Nobel Prize winner Desmond Tutu, Bishop Yvon Ambroise of the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of India, Prawate Khidharn, general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia and Bishop Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Charitable associations see Novartis' challenge as one against the right of worldwide poor patients for affordable drugs.

Drug companies have long argued that huge funding is required to research and carry out clinical trials for new drugs and they need to recover the costs by pricing them high in the initial years when they hold exclusive patents. If that alone were the case, the reasoning might still hold good for the phenomena of ever-greening of molecules that large companies indulge in, which will prevent the manufacture of generic versions ever. Ever-greening allows companies to make slight changes in off-patent molecules and patent, arguing it has improved efficiency. It is in that sense a never-ending cycle.

As long as the drug companies see their loyalty only to the shareholder, there is and will be a perennial clash between private profit and public interest. The only way out seems to be to break the gird-lock of private funding in the research of new drugs and encourage, publicize and encourage initiatives like the Neglected Diseases Foundation , whose vision is to improve the quality of life and health of people suffering from neglected diseases by developing new drugs or new formulations of existing drugs for patients suffering from these diseases. The foundation has broken new ground by launching ASAQ, a non-patented, once-a-day, fixed-dose anti-malarial drug. It is the first new anti-malarial drug in decades. Even as drug companies for the most part treat the sick as vulnerable milking cows, initiatives like the Neglected Diseases Foundation deserve all the publicity, encouragement and funding that they need to expand their portfolio.