New call for India to oppose IMPACT move

India's Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, is coming under growing pressure to block the new proposed definition of counterfeit medicines being put forward by the World Health Organization's taskforce on counterfeiting. Previously, the International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce has recommended alterations to the WHO's definition which, critics argue, could outlaw many generic medicines (Marketletter October 27).

The Communist Party of India general secretary Arhendu Bhushan Bardhan has called on Dr Singh to stop Indian officials from attending a meeting in Germany to ratify the proposal. Mr Bardhan argued that the change of definition is part of an agenda by multinational pharmaceutical firms to harm the export of Indian-manufactured generic medicines.

The CPI leader specifically criticized the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations for its role in what several groups in India consider to be the misuse of the term "counterfeit" to cover what are locally considered to be legitimate generic medicines.