India rejects EFTA’s data exclusivity demand in trade pact talks

India rejects EFTA’s data exclusivity demand in trade pact talks India has rejected the demand of the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) for ‘data exclusivity’ provisions in the free trade agreement that both sides are negotiating, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Thursday. EFTA’s members — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland — are countries that have opted out of the European Union.Barthwal was reacting to reports that the demand for data exclusivity would make it difficult for the Indian pharma industry to produce generic variants of off-patent products. Data exclusivity provisions will bar generic drug producers from using data of preclinical tests and clinical trials of former patent holders. If generic medicine makers wish to introduce their version of an off-patent drug then they will have to either generate their own clinical data or wait for the exclusivity period to end. [Read more](/dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29t/aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZmluYW5jaWFsZXhwcmVzcy5jb20lMkZwb2xpY3klMkZlY29ub215LWluZGlhLXJlamVjdHMtZWZ0YXMtZGF0YS1leGNsdXNpdml0eS1kZW1hbmQtaW4tdHJhZGUtcGFjdC10YWxrcy0zMzk1ODA1JTJG)  We respect your privacy. If you are not interested in receiving further emails, please Click [here](/dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29t)