European firms gang up to patent pirated Asian medicines

Now representatives of 22 leading drug majors, including Glaxo-Burroughs Wellcome chief executive Sir Richard Sykes and Smithkline Beecham chief Jan Leschly have written an open letter to members of European parliament to approve the patent directive.

This effort is being countered by environmentalists, aurvedic medicine dealers in India, traditional practitioners in Tibet and other places who argue that this move such global enterprises would give monopoly rights to crops and medicines developed in these regions, without any compensatory benefit. Media reportshere said Zemaphyte, a product by the drug maker Phytopharm, for treating eczema was made from “tribulus terrestrix” a herb that grows widely in India. Tribulus terrestris, called “Chotagokhru” in Hindi, has been widely used for decades to treat urinary infections.

The herb has its application in the Chinese and Tibetan medical practice and transnational companies seem to be taking advantage of this multiple application. Richard Dixey, chief executive of Phytopharm was quoted by British media as claiming, “tribulus is widely used, not only in Indian but in Chinese herbal medicines. So who owns it?”

Moreover, “we get all our supplies from the Chinese. It would be very hard for Indians to demonstrate they own it rather than Chinese,” he said. Another British firm, Zeneca, has developed a drug from black nightshade “Solanum Nigrum” a runaway success in India under the brand name “Liv-52” for liver and skin disorders. P&G has used derivatives of “euphoria hirta” to treat gastro-intestinalcomplaints, the same usage for which the herb has been used for centuries in India, said Times.

British media reports here say that unlike China, India had become increasingly reluctant to provide plant formula to western countries accusing them of exploitation. But these multinational companies are now accusing India in turn of producing cheap generic copies of western patented medicines without payment of royalties. The association of British pharmaceutical industry has, however, rebutted the charges of monopoly made against them by traditional medicine practitioners.

They said the measure was aimed at codifying existing practice claiming that their research units should be rewarded for exciting medical research. But with patent rights on wonder drugs like zinetac and others — that made companies like Glaxo and Smithkline Beecham such global forces — running out it small wonder that these companies are now clutching at straws to keem the world leaders even at the cost of developing countries.