New Delhi: The US government is reducing the prices of prescription medicines by 59%. President Donald Trump announced this. A 30-day deadline has been set to reduce the price of such medicines in the US. In this regard, Trump has signed a comprehensive executive order on Monday. If pharmaceutical companies do not do so in 30 days, they will have to face new limits on the amount given by the government. Trump's new order is likely to have an adverse effect on India. GTRI i.e. Global Trade Research Initiative has told about this in its report. According to this report, this will benefit American patients, but pharmaceutical companies can put pressure on countries like India to increase prices. This can be done by tightening patent laws.
Trump's order asks the Health Department led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to fix new prices for medicines. If no agreement is reached, a new rule will come into force which will link the price paid for medicines in the US to the lower prices in other countries.
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This is not clear yet in Trump's order
Trump said on Monday morning, 'We are going to be equal ... We are all going to pay the same. We are going to pay the same as Europe pays.' It is not clear what effect Trump's executive order will have on millions of Americans with private health insurance.
The federal government spends hundreds of billions of dollars every year on prescription drugs, injections, transfusions and other medicines through Medicare. This insurance scheme covers about 70 million elderly Americans.
Meanwhile, America's major drug lobby opposed Trump's plan on Sunday. Drug manufacturers have long argued that if their profits are affected, it may affect their research to develop new drugs.
Fear of increase in drug prices in India
At the same time, think tank GTRI has said that patients in America will benefit from cheaper drugs. But drug manufacturing companies will try to earn more money from other places. They can increase the prices of drugs in countries like India.
It said in its report that drug companies can put pressure to tighten patent laws. Patent laws are the rules for making and selling drugs. If these laws become strict, other companies will not be able to make cheap drugs. Due to this, patients will have to buy expensive drugs.
GTRI's report says that India will have to protect its patent laws. India will have to make such rules so that medicines remain cheap and are easily available to the people. India will have to stop the pharmaceutical companies from acting arbitrarily.
If India weakens the patent laws, then medicines will become expensive. Other companies will not be able to make cheap medicines. This will harm the patients.
