Guest pelmetman Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 As with Ghandi, India has shown that there is another way to do things B-) The Indian government is finalising a plan to give out billions of pounds worth of essential medicines to patients in government-run hospitals and clinics - the biggest scheme of its kind in history. The landmark project would be another massive blow to Western pharmaceutical giants who are already struggling to find a foothold in the world's second most populous country. The West's big pharmaceutical firms - or "big pharma" - have long been thwarted on the sub-continent where the authorities freely allow generic drug companies to manufacture cheap copies of patented medicines. Doctors will be ordered to only use generic drugs in the programme, which is expected to be approved in the next couple of months. If a doctor prescribes a branded medicine they will face a hefty fine. Analysts believe the policy will cause the big pharmaceutical companies to rethink their emerging markets strategy. At the moment companies, like Pfizer (BSE: PFIZERSL.BO - news) and GlaxoSmithKline (Other OTC: GLAXF.PK - news) , spend a fortune on research only to see their precious formulations copied by generic drug companies in India. Healthcare specialists have welcomed the policy though and claim it may be a large first step towards universal healthcare. India's rapidly growing population currently stands at 1.2 billion people, just behind China. At the moment people can receive free healthcare at government-run hospitals but the cost of medicines for the poor mean many cannot follow the treatment programmes prescribed. The free drug proposal aims to reverse that but there are concerns about how effective the policy will be in a country where there is widespread corruption and inefficiency. Medecins Sans Frontieres' head of mission in India, Pierangelo Gandini, said: "In principle we think the plan is a great idea. 'But the implementation may be a problem because much more work needs to be done as some of the health services in the country, particularly in rural areas where the need is greatest, still do not work to a basic standard." He added: "We are concerned about whether the plan will be implemented properly." Officials at the health ministry say more than £2bn will be spent on 350 essential generic treatments over the next five years. It is expected up to half the population will benefit from the new policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 So state sanctioned piracy is o/k is it?. Oh I forgot...............................Chinas been doing it for decades. Thieving toerags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 peter - 2012-07-06 8:30 PM So state sanctioned piracy is o/k is it?. Oh I forgot...............................Chinas been doing it for decades. Thieving toerags. When it comes to medicines............Yep ;-)..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Interesting ... on the flip side, what happens if the large pharm'l giants stop developing the 'original' versions of the drugs where the costs are astronomical ... who will then discover new drugs then ....??? :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Let 'em die. They have too many kids anyway for the world to sustain them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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