Impact of Compulsory Licence on Affordability and Availability of Medicines in India: The Present Scenario

Author(s)	Dr. Gargi Lahiri
Country	India
Abstract	Skyscraping price of essential life saving medicines poses potential threat to their affordability. Patenting of pharmaceutical products is one of the responsible factors for the same. India as a welfare nation under the Patent Act, 1970 only protected the process of manufacture of the medicines. Medicine itself was not protected by product patent. In this surrounding reverse engineering ensured the affordability of medicines. In compliance with the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement, 1994 India was forced to introduce medicinal products within product patent regime through the Patent (3rd Amendment) Act, 2005. This affects the affordability of medicines. The Compulsory Licensing provision works as safety valve to secure accessibility of medicines not only in ordinary situation but also at the time of national emergency or extreme urgency. The present study reviews the impact of existing system of compulsory licence to secure affordability and availability of medicines in India.
Keywords	Compulsory Licence, National Emergency, Extreme Urgency, Affordability and Availability.
Field	Sociology > Administration / Law / Management
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-03-31
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.73113

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