WHO demands action by India over trade marks

The World Health Organization has written to the Drugs Comptroller General of India to express its concerns over the practise of some local copy drugmakers of naming their generic products with similar terms to international non-proprietary names. In addition to being unethical, the WHO argues that it is potentially dangerous as the wrong agent can be prescribed.

Cadila Pharmaceuticals' application for a trade mark for platin drew the attention of the global agency because the name is used in 18 other medicines, the Business Standard of India reports.

Raffaella Balocco Mattavelli, the WHO's INN Program Director, wrote to the DCGI that "the registration of 'platin' as a trade mark is particularly harmful, since it is identical to the INN stem '-platin' used for antineoplastic agents, platinum derivates." Indian legislation prohibits the registration of INNs or similar wordings as brand names, the Business Standard noted.