Hyderabad|India|September'2010: The access and affordability of pharmaceutical drugs and the effect changes in intellectual property rights are having on the production of medicines in developing and emerging economies are the key topics at a conference this week. The conference is at the University of Hyderabad and will run from Friday 17 September to Sunday 19 September 2010.

Professor Seyed E. Hasnain, Vice-Chancellor of University of Hyderabad, a renowned expert on biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, will inaugurate the three day conference “Pharmaceuticals in Developing and Emerging Economies: Production, Innovation, and Access to Medicines in the Wake of TRIPS” on 17 September 2010 at 10:00 am.

The conference is sponsored by University of Hyderabad and Deakin University (Melbourne, Australia). It features a range of prominent experts from India and other countries, including Vietnam, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Jordan, Brazil, Germany, the UK, the USA and Australia.

Around 80 research papers will be presented on different aspects of the pharmaceutical industry in India and the global South. Many of the presentations address the challenge of providing access to affordable and appropriate medicines, and the state of production and innovation capabilities in the developing and emerging economies.

The keynote speakers include Dr Mira Shiva, Professor D Balasubramanian, and Professor P.M.Bhargava, each one a legendary figure in Indian healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and science policy. Dr Mira Shiva is known for her contributions in rational drug policy, gender and health equity issues. Professor Balasubramanian helped set up the Biotech Park (Genome valley) near Hyderabad as the first Chairman of the Biotechnology Advisory Board of the State of Andhra Pradesh. Professor Bhargava is considered as the architect of modern biology and biotechnology in India and was the founding director of the renowned Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad.

The other key note speakers are James Love, Usha Ramanathan and Anand Grover. James Love, the Director of Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), advises UN agencies, national governments, international and regional intergovernmental organizations and public health NGOs, and is the author of a number of articles and monographs on innovation and intellectual property rights. Mr Love is one of the world’s most influential critics of pharmaceutical patents. Usha Ramanathan is an internationally renowned expert on law and poverty and a regular guest professor at many universities around the world. Dr Ramanathan is a frequent adviser to non-governmental and international organizations. Anand Grover, appointed by the United Nations Human Right Council as Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. He is a practising lawyer in the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India and Director of the Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS in India.

Professor Manohar Rao from the University of Hyderabad, an expert on the politics and economics of pharmaceuticals, is co-chair of the conference. He said the impact of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights – or TRIPS – agreement on pharmaceutical industries in developing and emerging countries was only just being felt. “Pharmaceutical manufacturing and access to affordable medicine in India and across developing countries are areas that have been rapidly changing over the past decade as a result of the TRIPS agreement put in place by the World Trade Organization,” Professor Rao said.

Dr Hans Lofgren from Deakin University is conference co-chair. He said that “the impact of TRIPS on access to medicines has only recently started to become apparent. The goal of this conference is to provide an assessment of the state of pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities in these countries as well as access to affordable medicines.”

“The intention of TRIPS was not only to protect the interests of drug manufacturers, but to advance the transfer of knowledge and technology for the benefit of developing and emerging economies. At the moment, though, it isn’t clear that the overall gap in the global pharmaceutical industry between developed and developing countries has been reduced.”

Organisers say the conference will provide a unique opportunity for researchers, policy makers, public health advocates, and industry representatives to deliberate on the economics and politics of the pharmaceutical industry and access to medicines, across the developing and emerging economies.