Necessary Roughness

BBC reports that Uganda will open its first drug plant for treating HIV/AIDS.

It aims to reduce the cost of the vital medication by cutting import costs.

(skipping)

Ugandan drugs importer Quality Chemicals will produce the medicines locally with Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla, one of the world’s largest producers of generic drugs. It hopes to sell them in Uganda and other African countries.

Quite cool. The article mentions toward the end that India has been producing generics of Western drugs, but Indian patent laws have been tightened to lessen copying.

I understand the necessity for patent law, used correctly. If pharmaceutical companies can copy drugs that hit the market without enduring the cost of research, then the original pharmeceutical company has incentive to hold new drugs back until it can get enough pledged demand to ensure a profit. On the other hand, the business of combining two drugs whose patents are expiring to have one drug that has a new patent seems slightly unethical, too.