India’s MRTPC is being replaced by the Competition Commission. MRTPC isn’t exactly a model of intelligent, vigorous action. A lot of hope is pinned on the new commission. If a pharma MNC is “gouging” consumers, the fact that it has a patent won’t save it from competition authority’s scrutiny.

Third, health insurance can and should be tagged to drug prices. The government should brainstorm on this as much as private insurers. Indeed, given the trend that the cost of effective health service is going up, even for lower income groups, there’s a broader agenda here.

True, none of this sounds as dramatic as violating the patent law and manufacturing copycats. But let’s remember that if this becomes the model, India will face unanswerable questions, internally and globally. Plus, there’s the general principle, which should be obvious but isn’t: if patent busting becomes the norm, innovation will be discouraged, and without new innovative drugs, there will be nothing to copy from.

That doesn’t help the patient.

saubhik.chakrabarti@expressindia.com