Pushing for linkage may provoke backlash

Drives to include patent linkage and patent-term restoration in free trade agreements threaten to delay access to generics and biosimilars, thereby driving up healthcare costs, according to Dilip Shah, chief executive officer of Vision Consulting Group and secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. And these rising costs “may result in longer-term consequences for the [pharma] industry, with consumers and governments ultimately forcing a fundamental reform of how medicines are reimbursed”, he warns in the CPhI Annual Industry Report 2018.