Putting profit before life

As an asthmatic, I remember watching a Panorama programme a few years ago, which featured a comparative investigation into the relative benefits of a breathing technique known as “Buteyko” against conventional drugs.

I was shocked to discover that the non-drug related method virtually cured its sample, whereas those subjected to conventional medicine showed little or no improvement. These results had already been predicted by previous sensational tests in Australia, some time before.
My surprise was exacerbated by the fact that there had been little or no further investigation or formal experimentation pursued after encouraging statistics favoured Buteyko. The programme strongly suggested that it simply would not be in the interest of pharmaceutical companies to finance any potential cures for illnesses that were not related to tangible medication. Basically, drug companies are about profit, not cure.
Subsequent to this programme I have used a combination of breathing techniques, exercise and drugs to help my asthma. Having heard about pharmaceutical companies Novartis and Pfizer taking legal action in India and the Philippines against those wishing to supply cheaper imitation drugs to the masses, I was again reminded that curing sickness is not necessarily their primary concern – at least not for the poor.
Currently, in India, the Swiss drugs company Novartis is engaged in a legal battle to patent a drug used to combat stomach tumours and leukaemia, known as Glivec. Novartis is attempting to enforce intellectual property rights, thus enabling them to sell Glivec in the Indian market at Rs.120,000 ($2,500) per patient per month – pricing this crucial drug way out of the reach of poor people. Generic versions of the same drug cost Rs.8,000 ($175) per patient per month. Novartis are pursuing this case through the appeal courts, despite a ruling last January by an Indian court that Glivec could not be patented on the grounds that it “lacked real innovation”.
The result of the case will have huge ramifications. India is simply trying to interpret global intellectual property rules in a manner that would guarantee affordable medicines for the poor, which it is perfectly entitled to do under global trade rules.
It is difficult for me to really understand the thinking behind huge corporations putting profit before life, all the moreso in a country where most of the population is well below the poverty line. However, setting a legal precedent in India may be a clever strategic move on the part of Novartis, as India is also the producer of approximately 67% of medicines sent to developing countries, including nearly 80% of medicines exported to Sub-Saharan Africa; almost certainly, the ability of Indian generic companies to export cheaper generic drugs will be undermined if Novartis wins this case.
When I heard that the global pharmaceutical industry got 22% sales growth in India, Brazil, China and Russia last year – as opposed to relatively unimpressive single digit growth in US, Europe and Japan – it became obvious to me why India has become such as important battleground. Given what is potentially at stake, it is, indeed, amazing that such an important case has not been given an international platform for greater scrutiny.
I often wonder if the fat cats who run Novartis have ever been to India, or to any of the other countries that will be most affected, and witnessed the pain and suffering of those in need. Surely, their simple humanity would demand a change of perspective. Who knows?
All I can say for sure is that their greed undermines the work of virtually every charitable organisation in India and beyond, one of whom I intend to raise money for by running next year… without my inhaler.
Nitin Sawhney is a renowned composer, DJ and recording artist. Nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2000 for his album Beyond Skin, he won a MOBO Award in 2001 with Prophesy. He has also enjoyed considerable success composing scores for a number of films and TV programmes and as a comedian, broadcaster and commentator. He supports Oxfam’s campaign for Access To Medicines and Make Trade Fair Campaign. See www.maketradefair.com for more information.