IPR CHAIR ACTIVITIES 2015-16 Activities of MHRD Chair/ CIPRA 2015- 16 01. One day Conference on “A Decade of GI Act in India” on 10th January 2015 The MHRD Chair on IPR and Centre for Intellectual Property rights Research and Advocacy (CIPRA), National Law School of India University organized a one day Conference on ‘A Decade of GI Act in India’ on 10th January, 2015, looking in to the practical and administrative need to have a framework for the better implementation to exploit the potential benefits embedded in GIs. The main focus of this conference was pertaining to the opportunities and challenges of GIs in India. Further to understand from the stakeholders the ground realities
formulations listed. Presently under NLEM 2011, there are about 628 unique medicines out of 680 medicines of scheduled formulations covering 27 therapeutic groups are subject to price control. Currently NPPA is scanning the new list of the approved Essential Medicines to compare it with the new list in the NLEM and start fixing the ceiling prices, which would be done in the next three to four months. In additions to medicines listed in the schedule I of the DPCO – NPPA also fixes the retail prices of new medicines for which the pharma companies have to apply specifically to NPPA in the FORM – I of DPCO, 2013, where the retail price is company specific and the medicines of the company’s should satisfy the conditions of para 2(u) of DPCO, 2013 – so that the Drug qualifies to be the new drug under DPCO. So far NPPA has fixed retail prices of 247 new drugs. NPPA also invokes the extraordinary powers under para19 of DPCO 2013 – where the NPPA and Government are given the power to decide on prices in extraordinary circumstance such as public health and other important issues. In July 2014, NPPA fixed the prices of 106 medicines invoking the powers vested in para19, which include anti diabetic and medicines. NPPA also monitors the availability of scheduled and formulations across the country. Along with that, the enforcement wing monitors the selling of medicines at fixed ceiling price for retail prices for company specific, in case of non-compliance it also takes actions against the company for over charging also by invoking the provisions of Essential Commodities Act. DPCO provides for exemptions for the Patented Medicines – if they are developed indigenously through indigenous R & D and this exemption is for a period of five years from the date of commercial production for product or a process Patent. If a new drug involving the drug delivery system is developed through indigenous R & D, it is exempted from price control from the date of
Some of the implications of growing import dependence of bulk drugs is yet to be assessed properly. Four Session The Technical-Session four of the conference has been devoted on the theme- Role of Public/ Private Insurance and Medicine Access. The session has been chaired by the Dr. Sharmila Mary Joseph. This technical - session was the last session of the conference and commenced with the framework presentation made by the group of students who have primarily put forward the historical background of the health insurance in India, kinds of health insurance in India, role of IRDA in regulation of various health insurance policies etc. They had made their concern towards slow growth rate of the health insurance in the country and raised the several issues before the gathering for dissuasion, inter alia, what is the current condition of health insurance in India? How other countries in globe implementing health insurance? What country can learn from them in development of same here? What is the status of Universal Health Coverage in India? The very first speaker of the session was the Ms. Parvathi Shankar who is Vice-President and Head of Risk Management in Swiss Re Services Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai. Ms. Parvathi had put forward her views on the Health Insurance Scenario in India. During her presentation she has exhaustively covered the various aspect of health insurance, including why one need health insurance, basic elements involved in health insurance programme and has given a framework of health insurance- how it works.