The WTO and India's Pharmaceuticals Industry: Patent Protection, TRIPS, and Developing Countries

The WTO and India's Pharmaceuticals Industry: Patent Protection, TRIPS, and Developing Countries List Price: $55.00 Offer Price: USD $47.94 See Latest Price & Discount Author Sudip Chaudhuri Binding: Hardcover Publication Date: 2005-11-03 ISBN 0195674820 Publisher:Oxford University Press, USA Editorial Reviews: Product Description The establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 brought about significant changes in international economic relations between countries. To comply with the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of the WTO, India introduced product patent protection in pharmaceuticals from January 2005. TRIPS has generated a huge controversy in India and abroad. India has emerged as a major source of low-cost, quality drugs for the entire world and thus plays an important role. While there are a large number of pharmaceutical manufacturers in the world, only a handful of multinationals dominate the industry. By using patent rights, multinational companies prevented developing countries like India from realizing their potential of industrial growth and drug prices were among the highest in the world.