Competition and intellectual property policies in the Indian pharmaceutical sector

Abstract

The Indian pharmaceuticals market is estimated to be the third largest in the world in terms of volume, and one of the largest in terms of value created (Economics Division, 2017). This industry is also a key player not just within India but also across the globe; the Indian pharmaceutical companies produce bulk drugs that are exported to several countries, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. When compared to the other pharmaceutical sectors in the world such as the mature markets in the OECD countries, the Indian pharmaceutical market is unique due to several reasons: a changing patent regime (from product patents to only process patents and then back to product patents), unique nature of competition (for example, branded generics as against pure generics), etc. Given this exceptional nature of the pharmaceutical market, it is important to understand this sector from a public policy angle