The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre why it did not think about granting compulsory licences to more pharma businesses for the manufacture of drugs to tackle the emergency that has arisen due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the suo moto hearing on Covid crisis, a Special Bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud, LN Rao and SR Bhat asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that “has the Centre considered to invoking Section 92 of Patents Act and issue compulsory licences so that drugs can be manufactured while royalty is sorted or HC may decide so. If the government and patentee is not able to reach a decision on patent price, the HC can decide?”
“This is a public health emergency. You have no less that 10 PSUs that can take over and start manufacturing. This is a national emergency. Drug Control Order empowers you,” the apex court mentioned, adding that it was concerned only about the overall health of the persons and “it is not to pass a value judgment.”
The SC will pass a slew of interim directions on Saturday which will govern the predicament for the next 10 days. “We will formulate a proper order. It is about important policy changes that Centre needs to consider,” the Bench mentioned, whilst posting the matter for additional hearing on May 10.
Compulsory licences can be granted with sunset clause which shows that such licences will be more than when the pandemic is more than, it mentioned. “Doha Declaration of TRIPS show that member states can take such steps to protect right of public health. Why should the court not issue directions under Section 100 and Section 92 to enable generics to manufacture these drugs without the fear of legal action? Is the logistical concern more important than right to health?” the judges asked.
The Bench also mentioned that that beneath the current legal regime, India can bypass the patent guidelines for remdesivir by importing the drug from Bangladesh and can also take a licence from the neighbouring manufacturer to create remdesivir in India.
It also questioned the Central government more than the pricing of vaccines. “Why is the government not buying 100% of doses produced in this time? Why should there be two prices for the Centre and the states… what is the rationale?… The same companies are selling at lower prices to foreign nations. Pricing issue is extraordinarily important.”
AstraZeneca is giving vaccines at far reduce price tag to the US citizens then why ought to we be paying so significantly?, Justice Bhat mentioned.
It also asked Mehta if the Government of India had made any advances to Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech (BB) which create two Covid vaccines Covishield and Covaxin, respectively. “We know what is the capacity of SII and BB? You need to ramp up the manufacturing and need additional units for manufacturing,” the judges mentioned.
According to the major court, the government ought to comply with the “national immunisation model which we had followed since independence.” “Why cannot follow the national immunization program policy and procurement is centralised but distribution be decentralised. Pricing issue is extraordinarily serious. How will poor people find money to get vaccinated? We can’t have this private sector model in a crisis like this,” Justice Chandrachud told Mehta.