FREE trade negotiations between the UK and India pose a "very real risk to affordable drug prices" and could see access to lifesaving medicines curtailed, Scotland's Health Secretary has warned.
Humza Yousaf called on UK ministers to provide assurances that "nothing in the proposed Free Trade Agreement [FTA] with India will be allowed to jeopardise access to affordable medicines for NHS patients in Scotland and indeed the rest of the UK".
In a letter sent to UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch on November 15, and seen by the Herald, Mr Yousaf said the Scottish Government "has been clear that the protection of the NHS is a red line and that our public health service must not be threatened by UK Government trade deals".
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He added: "I am therefore concerned by the very real risk to affordable drug prices that is posed by the reported provisions of the Intellectual Property chapter contained in the India FTA.
"We recognise that IP protections are an important way to protect healthcare companies’ innovations. However, developments on IP can also impact the rights of individuals and limit access to affordable, lifesaving essential medical products.
"It is essential that the NHS in Scotland, and throughout the UK, continues to be able to access medicines for patients in need, and to do so in a way that is affordable – the UK Government’s proposals, as currently stated, put that core principle at serious risk."
It comes after campaigners raised the alarm over leaked documents which suggest that current proposals relating to potential changes to intellectual property laws would enable pharmaceutical firms to ramp up prices for generic drugs.
Around four in five drugs used by the NHS are generics, and a third of these are manufactured in India.
Generic medicines are are identical in terms of dose, safety and strength to more expensive branded versions, but can only go on sale after a set exclusivity period for the original branded product has expired.
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This is designed to reward pharmaceutical firms for investing in the research and development of new medicines.
Draft text from UK-India trade negotiations, leaked in October, indicate that the UK is pushing for tighter IP measures that could boost profits for British drug companies but would at the same time require India to introduce more monopolies on medicines.
The proposals state, for example, that each party “shall” allow a new use of an existing medicine to be patentable, reversing India's current patent law which has ensured that old and repurposed drugs are not eligible for renewed monopoly protection.
Critics of the move include the humanitarian NGO, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Leena Menghaney, MSF's South Asia head warned that introducing "more and more intellectual property hoops for generic manufacturers in India to jump through will have a chilling effect on the country's ability to supply millions of people around the world with affordable, lifesaving generic medicines".
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In a joint letter to Ms Badenoch dated November 2, a number of NGOs including MSF, Global Justice Now, Oxfam and Health Poverty Action also warned of the potential impact for the NHS, stating that "any action that curtails India’s ability to produce quality, cost-effective medicines also threatens the financial sustainability of our health service, and ultimately puts patients’ lives at risk".
They argued that the current proposals would allow pharmaceutical corporations "to extend their monopolies and keep prices artificially high for years beyond the end of the original 20-year patent term", adding that the UK's approach "is only beneficial to one group - the pharmaceutical industry and their shareholders".
The UK Government said it does not comment on alleged leaks or the details of live negotiations.
A spokesman said: “We will never agree any provisions that would increase the cost of medicines for our National Health Service. The NHS, its services, and the cost of medicines are not on the table.
“Protecting the NHS is a fundamental principle of our trade policy, and our commitment to this will not change during our negotiations with India.
“Chief Negotiators routinely meet with officials from the Scottish Government to engage them on negotiations.”
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