India got to its present pre-eminence in drug manufacturing through what is known as reverse engineering ...It is usually a polite way to describe patent theft.
atimes.com
I believe that India, and some other countries, simply rip off U.S. patented drugs, and sell their own copies domestically, and to similar countries, without paying anything to the patent holder. There is some fig leaf in the law about there has to be something different in the process of creating the drug, but anything will do: they never fail to find some difference.
Their justification is that they can't afford to pay for the drugs, which is certainly true to some extent.
But I'm surprised to learn that they're selling so many generic drugs in the U.S.: it seems unfair given their treatment of our patents.
The following indicates that the rip-off will be ending soon:
However, under pressure from global drug makers, the federal government is reportedly planning to begin upholding international drug patents in 2005, forcing Dr Reddy’s and Ranbaxy to find new ways of making money.
But I'm not even certain if "federal government" refers to India or the U.S.[referenced in the previous sentence.]
The U.S. is making a great effort to get intellectual property rights respected around the globe, in exchange for other trade concessions.
Do you know what the legal situation is? [and no matter what Rick says, I know we need you guys. <g> ]
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