Indian generics companies' attitude to patents changing

Indian generic companies have changed their attitude to local patents, and many are now joining multinationals to support the grant of patents for incremental inventions in India.

The main reason is that Indian companies are working on incremental innovations like new forms, derivatives and new drug delivery systems of existing molecules, for which they will seek patent protection in India.

As Indian companies also bid aggressively for overseas assets and tie-up with global pharma companies for manufacture and research, there is a pressing need for them to change their image of `copycat manufacturers'.

Under pressure from domestic companies, the Central Government in 1970 abandoned the idea of a product patent regime, allowing only process patents. Globally three patents exist: on the molecule, on the process of manufacturing, or on the delivery system.

Currently Indian pharma companies are encouraging the grant of patent not only for new molecule, but also for incremental inventions, molecules which have been slightly modified from their original form, or to which a new substance has been added.