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By Bill Berkrot
Feb 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Fridaycalled on the government to ratchet up pressure on India overintellectual property rights, in a move that could help preventIndian companies from producing cheap generic versions ofmedicines still under patent protection.
In a submission to the Office of U.S. Trade Representative(USTR), the Chamber of Commerce requested that India beclassified a Priority Foreign Country, a tag given to the worstoffenders when it comes to protecting intellectual property, andone that could trigger trade sanctions.
India is currently on the U.S. government's Priority WatchList for countries whose practices on protecting intellectualproperty Washington believes should be monitored closely.
In its new submission, the Global Intellectual PropertyCenter (GIPC) of the Chamber of Commerce said: "We highlightIndia as a country with particular challenges with respect tointellectual property protections."
"Because India has not shown a record of engagement on theseissues and the environment has deteriorated significantly sincelast year, we are now recommending that India be designated aPriority Foreign Country," it said.
The perspective from India is that many patented drugs aretoo costly for most people. The government in New Delhi ispushing to increase access to life-saving treatments where only15 percent of 1.2 billion people are covered by healthinsurance.
India received the lowest score in the trade group's IPIndex released last week, performing poorly in all six of itsrating categories - patents, copyrights, trademarks, tradesecrets and market access, enforcement, and membership andratification of international treaties.
The U.S. industry trade group for drugmakers, PharmaceuticalResearch and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), is scheduled todetail its concerns about India and other countries to the U.S.Trade Representative later on Friday.
The recommendations are for a document known as a Special301 Report, which is prepared annually by the Office of theUnited States Trade Representative.
It is quite possible that PhRMA will also recommend placingIndia on the worst offenders' list based on concerns of many ofits member companies.
The industry push for a tougher line on India was firstrevealed in a Reuters report on Thursday, although at least onemember, British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, has calledfor constructive engagement with Indian officials rather than aharder line stance.
Calls for turning up the pressure on India come at a timewhen an Indian government committee is reviewing patentedmedicines sold by foreign drugmakers to see if so-calledcompulsory licenses, which in effect break exclusivity rights,can be issued for some of them in an effort to bring down costs,two senior government officials told Reuters.
The drugs being considered for such patent-breaking licensesare used for treating cancer, diabetes, hepatitis and HIV, saidthe sources, declining to give details. No timeline has beengiven for completion of the India review process.
