October 6: The new patent regime, ordained by the World Trade Organisation, will drive a serious dent in the indigenous base of the pharmaceutical industry in India besides pushing the prices of the products to prohibitive levels.

Prior to 1970, the domination of foreign companies in the Indian pharmaceutical sector was 80 per cent. But following the introduction of the Indian Patent Act and the Drug Price Control Order, the scenario changed and by 80s, Indian companies acquired 60 per cent of market share and the country emerged as one of the biggest exporters of drugs in the third world.

After the formation of WTO and a new international patent regime, there has been a fierce debate both in and outside Parliament on the issue. The Patent (Amendment) Bill, 1995 is now being scrutinised by the joint select committee of Parliament.

Federation of Medical Representative Associations of India vice-president J S Mazumdar says the process of a kind of ``reverse patent piracy'' has already started. ``A large number of traditional medicines are being pirated through this system without our knowledge,'' he explains. ``There is no law for protection of traditional and naturally available biological resources.''

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.