GENERIC DRUGS

In 2010, an unusual protest erupted over a still negotiated and secret free trade agreement between India and the European Union. Protesters were people living with HIV/ AIDS and cancer. They saw a threat to manufacture of generic medicines in the country that have made their treatment affordable. Generic medicines are the cheaper equivalent of innovator products, usually manufactured after the expiry of the patent on the branded drug. India is the pharmacy of the world because generics made here are used globally. Since then, the world has woken up to the rise of generic drugs that emerge as a counter to the patent and profit driven multinational corporations.