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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsU.S. punishes India for placing public health before corporate profits
by Dr. Margaret Flowers
The U.S. Trade Report released yesterday continues to hold India in Priority Watch Status because India is not caving in to pressure from pharmaceutical corporations who want to sell high-priced patented medications in India. For the past decade, India has taken the lead in producing low-cost generic medications to meet important areas of need such as the treatment of infectious diseases. India also has a strict approval process for patented medications such that new pharmaceuticals must actually prove that they are more effective than current drugs before being approved.
India's actions mean that the people of India and their neighbors are able to afford life-saving medicines, but US pharmaceutical corporations are in an uproar because of barriers to making profit in India. The USTR also criticizes India for giving preferential treatment to local industries over international corporations. The report criticizes nations for not engaging in good faith negotiations with the U.S., but the Obama Administration is notorious for pressuring other nations to go against their own interests so that multinational corporations can profit.
Nations like India should not be punished for putting the needs of their populations first. And profit should not be made at the cost of suffering and preventable death. The development of more generic medicines and sharing of research that can improve or save lives rather than holding on to it as 'trade secrets' should be encouraged. .....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://greenshadowcabinet.us/statements/flowers-us-punishes-india-placing-public-health-corporate-profits
babylonsister
(171,057 posts)LooseWilly
(4,477 posts)"The United States also shares the objective of continued improvement in the health and quality of life of its citizens, and the objective of delivering care in the most efficient and responsive way possible."
I find the use of the word "shares" with regard to health care in the US to be rather hysterical. "offers for sale" would have been more accurate, methinks.
pscot
(21,024 posts)They disclaim any party affiliation. Are they connected to the Green Party?
Registered to Ben Manski of Jill Stein for President
Edited to add: There must be some peculiar reason related to election laws for the transparently false disclaimer. It's pretty clear from their name who they really are; I don't really think they seriously don't expect people to make the connection!
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)It is quite clear on their "about" page:
The Green Shadow Cabinet includes nearly 100 prominent scientists, community and labor leaders, physicians, cultural workers, veterans, and more, and provides an ongoing opposition and alternative voice to the dysfunctional government in Washington D.C.. As with shadow cabinets in other countries, the Green Shadow Cabinet of the United States responds to actions of the government in office and demonstrates that another government is possible. This cabinet is led by the 2012 Green Party presidential nominees of Dr. Jill Stein and Ms. Cheri Honkala and supports independent politics and policies. However, it is not a project of any political party.
http://greenshadowcabinet.us/about-green-shadow-cabinet-united-states
pscot
(21,024 posts)candidate is president in this shadow cabinet does suggest a connection.
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)caraher
(6,278 posts)However, imagine that Mitt Romney and a number of conservatives had an organization called "Republican Shadow Cabinet" whose web page, registered to his campaign manager, carried the disclaimer,
"The Republican Shadow Cabinet of the United States is a civic project not sponsored by or affiliated with any political party."
Legally that could be true, but realistically, to claim no "affiliation" does serious violence to the ordinary meaning of words.
I have no beef with the Green Party; I think they do a lot of good work trying to bring more balance to public discourse. I just doubt that even they regard the "shadow cabinet" project as truly unaffiliated with their party.
FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)You can go to the doctor for $5 in Dehli, as long as you are not worried about petty little things like "Is this doctor licensed?" and "What exactly does he want to inject me with?"
And if you want a medical excuse to extend your trip and get free airfare home, or perhaps a death certificate so you can cash in on your life insurance, they will hook you up with that as well.
http://natgeotv.com/za/scam-city/videos/delhi-doctor-scam
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)also many dual citizens of other countries go ''home'' for medical procedures simply because it costs so much less. Let's face it folks, US citizens are being gouged .. and mistakes with meds and hospital procedures happen all the time. Our health care system rates very low among nations .. according to the WHO organization: 37th. It could be inaccurate according to many factors: diet, exercise, stress, environment etc. But the U.S. doesn't even come close to the top 10 .. France and Italy rankings are higher. You can go to some quacks here in the U.S. just as well .. so don't go knocking the medical professions of other countries.
FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)Even if you did, I guess it does not matter, because America is the cruelest, greediest, most backward nation on Earth.
(But I would still rather look for a doctor in Detroit than in Delhi).
pscot
(21,024 posts)Cruelist among developed nations.
Not so much backward, as lobotomized by TV.
La Lioness Priyanka
(53,866 posts)besides an ugly dose of racism/xenophobia and a clear lack of knowledge about delhi, how is this relevant to the article
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)I wouldn't expect anything less... since the soviet union collapsed, we are going full bore to privatize everything, at home and abroad.
Mr. Blue Sky
(33 posts)usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)Which will be there's, and ours, unfortunately, undoing.
DreamGypsy
(2,252 posts)...to the link at the end of the article: See: Obama Administration: Big Pharma Worth More Than Lives of People in India:
A generic version, approved by the Indian government, cost just $157 a month (NB: that's still $1884/year, $474 above per capita income). Under the compulsory license issued by the government, Bayer received a 6 percent royalty on sales of the generic drug.
USTR maintained a low public profile domestically during the hubub that ensued, but other Obama administration officials lashed out at the Indian government, accusing it of violating World Trade Organization treaties.
In a July 2012 hearing, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Deputy Director Teresa Stanek Rea called the decision an egregious WTO violation. This is front and center, she said. [We are] trying to stop the granting of further compulsory licenses.
Compulsory licensing the granting of a license to produce a generic version of a product is explicitly protected by WTO treaties to help countries improve public health and ensure access to medicines.
USTR referenced the Nexavar case in its Special 301 Report, objecting to the Indian government decision for saying the countrys law allows a compulsory license on products that are not being manufactured in India three years after they are patented. The India courts decision, however, primarily focused on Bayers failure to meet demand for the medication and the firms failure to offer the drug at reasonably affordable price.
James Love, director of the nonprofit group Knowledge Ecology International, told HuffPost the Obama administration, by focusing on Indias domestic drug production rules, neglected to admit it was trying to force India to accept a $65,000 annual price for a cancer drug.
Spend a buck to make a buck,
You don't really give a flying fuck
About the people in misery.
Thanks for the post, mm.
KauaiK
(544 posts)The health care system in the US is dangerous to your health. India also banned GMO pesticides! I say good on them! Thank you to marmar for posting
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts).
limpyhobbler
(8,244 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)ReRe
(10,597 posts)... i.e. our world trade agreements. Probably a case that will end up in WTO (the World Trade Organization) Court. New World Order. Globalization. "Best thing since sliced bread not just for us but for the whole world." That's what they told us back around 1992-1993 when Clinton brought all the living Presidents to DC and had a big ceremony for those new trade agreements (Nafta and Gatt).
Here's what I think of those wonderful New World Order treaties: Hogwash. When a country signs on to one of those, they are giving their sovereignty away. Not only sovereignty, but they are more or less deep-sixing the Magna Carta. It's the biggest bait and switch known to man, pulled off by big multinational business corporations.
I believe what will happen now is the USA will bring suit against India in the WTO. India will lose and be fined into submission and be forced to allow our big pharma and their over-priced pharmaceuticals into their country.
Mr. Blue Sky
(33 posts)India has historically invalidated U.S. pharma patents to protect the profits of it's booming generic drug industry and has used the threat of patent invalidation to intimidate foreign companies into supplying drugs at cut rate pricing...
Critics of the pharmaceutical industry contend that drug makers focus too much on profits, and in so doing, they don't fulfill their obligation to provide affordable access to their products. Novartis countered this notion by pointing out in its statement that it gives Glivec away for free to 95% of Indian patients who are prescribed the drug. The other 5% receive some sort of reimbursement, the company said.
Merck, which was also stung by a negative Indian patent ruling, has long talked up its "tiered pricing" plans for some drugs. In 2009, the company rolled out a tiered pricing strategy for some of its vaccines and HIV treatments in developing countries. A spokesman for Merck said in an e-mail that the company has a plan that includes "India-specific, responsible pricing" for its diabetes drugs. "We continue to believe our patents for Januvia and Janumet are valid and enforceable, and we are committed to exploring all legal options to defend them."
It's no surprise that India's government wants to protect the country's burgeoning drug business. PwC estimates that India's domestic pharmaceutical industry will grow from $11 billion in annual sales in 2009 to $30 billion by 2020. Much of that growth will be driven by India's famed generic drug manufacturers, such as Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Cipla and Aurobindo Pharma. "This is a matter of self interest for Indian industry," Gordon says. "The determining factor was India's generics industry -- made up of big companies run by rich families -- versus multinational companies. India frames this as 'our companies versus the rest of the world's companies.'"
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=3231
LiberalAndProud
(12,799 posts)Our country would be much better of with less "free trade" and more protectionism. Free Trade is a euphemism for Race to the Bottom in safety, wages and workers' rights. The only free thing about it, is freedom for corporations to permeate borders in search of the least restrictive business environment.
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)The military.
Of course, this is only in the interest of the elite owners.
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)"Protectionism" = Good, in that it's the polar opposite of "free trade" as the plutocrats practice and push. If that makes me an "isolationist", an "economic nationalist" who wants to "build a wall around the country" ( or any of the other canards the corporatists/globalists demagogue us with ) then so be it. Guilty as charged....and lovin' it.
Just like you say. "Freedom" = Money to a conservative or neoliberal.
indepat
(20,899 posts)chance of being taught a good lesson by someone who knows how to use their big stick to teach others a good lesson.
indepat
(20,899 posts)chance of being taught a good lesson by someone who has often used its big stick to teach others a good lesson.