Patent should revert to research firms: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad feels public-funded patents of Indian research organisations, which have been sold to Indian private sector companies, should go back to the organisations of these companies are taken over by multinationals. The health minister expressed these views in a letter to commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma.

The health minister wants publicly-funded Indian research organisations to stipulate, while selling or transferring patents to private sector companies, that ownership of patents would revert to these organisations in case these companies are taken over by foreign institutions.

Responding to a discussion paper of the commerce ministry on issues relating to compulsory licensing (CL) under the Indian Patents Act to address the concerns of the recent acquisition of Indian pharma companies by foreign multinationals, Azad said the drug controller general was competent to issue market authorisation of the generic version of patented drugs.

Accordingly, it has given approval to Indian manufacturers for certain drugs in respect of which patent is still valid. “Hence, there may not be any occasion for issuing compulsory licence under the Indian Patents Act,” the letter said.