06/03/2026
In 2011, we marched with more than 3,000 people in India to oppose harmful provisions that could have been included in EU–India free trade agreement and threatened access to affordable medicines. Fifteen years later, after two decades of sustained advocacy, those were excluded from the final deal.
The intellectual Property chapter of this trade deal largely preserves India’s public health safeguards and does not include any harmful provisions that go beyond the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS agreement, such as data exclusivity or patent term extensions.
“We welcome the positive outcomes of this agreement, which ensures that provisions expanding pharmaceutical monopolies beyond international trade rules are not included. As an international medical humanitarian organisation, MSF has seen firsthand how health safeguards in Indian laws have prevented unwarranted monopolies and kept lifesaving medicines within reach for people in low- and middle-income countries,” said Roshan Joseph, Legal and Policy Advisor, MSF Access. And he warned: “At the same time, we call on Government of India to ensure careful implementation of the enforcement and trade secret provisions which will be crucial to maintaining these hard-earned gains and ensuring they do not block the entry of affordable generics into the market. Medicines and medical tools should never be a luxury.”
“We hope the positive elements of the intellectual property in the EU-India trade agreement serve as a template for other countries, enabling them to resist pressure during trade negotiations and safeguard access to affordable medicines,” added Parthesarathy Rajendran, Executive Director, MSF South Asia.
Read our full reaction: https://msfaccess.org/dnp-and-msf-welcome-removal-harmful-ip-provisions-eu-india-fta-call-continued-vigilance
