India to send delegation to Africa over anti-counterfeit laws

According to Pharmabiz.com here , India is to send a delegation from the commerce ministry to a number of southern African countries “to allay any fears over the quality of Indian generic drugs.” The visit to the unnamed southern African countries by the delegation is meant “to counter propaganda” and “to remove misconception among the African countries”.

While it is not clear which southern Africa countries the delegation will be visiting, the visit seems to have been precipitated by the enactment of an Anti-counterfeit law in Kenya. It would appear that Uganda has recently drafted a similar bill which is worrying Indian generic drug manufacturers over certain provisions which they interpret to mean that generic drugs are classified as counterfeit.

It would seem that Indian officials are worried that other countries in Africa may follow the Kenya and Uganda example, a trend which they fear will put the Indian drug industry in jeopardy as Africa is a huge market for their generic drugs. According to the report the mission will try to persuade African countries to desist from enacting such laws.

India protest over Kenya's anti counterfeit legislation here.
India up in arms over Kenya's anti-counterfeit bill here
Diplomatic mission here
Space mission here