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Info Service on Intellectual Property Issues (Nov14/09) Public call to Indian justices not to meet with multinational pharmaceutical industry Dear friends and colleagues, The Campaign for Affordable Trastuzumab, a network of treatment activists, patients has written a strong letter calling on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and the Chairman of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) to cancel a series of scheduled meetings this week with direct and indirect representatives of the multinational pharmaceutical industry. The Campaign for Affordable Trastuzumab was launched in November 2012 and endorsed at the time by over 200 Indian and global patient associations, cancer survivors, health movements, women’s rights activists and eminent jurists. The Campaign is committed to making the breast cancer drug – trastuzumab – affordable in India. This letter dated 14 November expresses concern over an upcoming “Innovation Dialog”organised in India from on 16 -22 November, 2014 by the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPOA). The IPOA is a US-based group consisting of large corporations and law firms, dedicated to raising IP protection that ends up blocking access to affordable medicines. IPOA is well known to regularly interfere with IP standards and protection in India which so far is the largest supplier of generic medicines for developing countries. Among the IPOA members are notably Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Roche Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co that have cases and appeals pending before the IPAB and the Delhi High Court. According to the letter of concern, “The agenda of the IPOA event over the next two weeks includes meetings with the IPAB (a quasi-judicial body) and the Delhi High Court and the offices of the Controller of Patents. The agenda also shows a scheduled visit to the Supreme Court of India. The intent of these meetings is clear – they are blatant attempts to influence the judicial outcomes in cases relating to drug patent disputes that are currently before the courts.” The Campaign believes “that the independence of the judiciary is central to its role in protecting the right to life and health guaranteed to us by our Constitution” and therefore make the call “to cancel any meetings… scheduled with the IPOA delegation, which is openly seeking to breach this fundamental principle of justice and thereby undermine the ethical foundations of our judicial system.” We are pleased to share with you the letter which is attached, and two reports in the Times of India on this issue. Conflict of interest: US patent lobby to meet Indian judiciary, patent officials Group writes to SC, HC CJs against US patent body With best wishes, Third World Network
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