September 08, 2006, New Delhi, India
CUTS CCIER is organising a knowledge dissemination workshop on “Options for Using Competition Law/Policy Tools in Dealing with Anti-competitive Practices in Pharmaceuticals and the Health Delivery System” on September 8, 2006 in New Delhi, India.
Globally the drug sector has been notorious for practices thwarting the spirit of competition and regulation. The role of competition authority is very crucial in placing appropriate restraints. An important question that arises is whether the Indian authorities are well geared to do this task?
In 2005-06, CUTS CCIER had conducted a study on “Options for Using Competition Law/Policy Tools in Dealing with Anti-competitive Practices in Pharmaceuticals and the Health Delivery System”, supported by the World Health Organisation. The overall objective of this project was to – identify competition concerns in the pharmaceutical sector and health delivery system; examine the scope of competition policy and law in dealing with such concerns; and suggest an implementation strategy to enhance access to medicines and enhance the efficiency of health delivery systems. CUTS CCIER plans to disseminate findings of this study through a workshop to be held on Friday, September 8, 2006 in New Delhi at the India International Centre at 1000 hours.
The workshop will focus on
- Current nature of the pharmaceutical industry and health delivery systems in India
- Issues of access to medicines and affordable health care in India in context of current practices in the pharmaceutical industries and he health delivery system
- Issues of drug pricing and substandard drugs
- Issues of anti-competitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry and the health delivery system
- The efficacy of the laws and regulatory authorities in the area of pharmaceuticals and the health delivery system in stemming anti-competitive/anti-consumer practices
- The workshop would combine a presentation on the findings of the study and a panel discussion on the issues, followed by a general discussion.