ABHIMANU IAS SPEAKS

Bio-piracy

• India has successfully foiled a bio-piracy bid by a Swiss multi-national firm to patent an age-old Indian home remedy - milk as a laxative.
• Nestec SA had filed a patent application at the European Patent Office (EPO) on May 12, 2009, claiming the usefulness of cow milk for the treatment of constipation and as a laxative to be its unique finding. 

 India’s response

• Cow milk is being used alone or in combination with other ingredients for treating constipation and as a laxative in traditional Indian medicine systems for hundreds of years. 
• The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Union health ministry's department of Ayush sent the EPO references of the remedy from several ancient Indian texts dated between 5th century and 20th century.
• This led to the applicant withdrawing its claim and patent application on January 24.

 Books used as evidence by India:

1. Astanga Hridaya (5th century),
2. Vangasena (12th century),
3. Rasendracintamanaih (16th century),
4. Siddhabhesajamanimala (19th century)
5. Khazaain-al-Advia (20th century).

 What is Bio-piracy?

• Biopiracy is a situation where indigenous knowledge of nature, originating with indigenous people, is exploited for commercial gain without permission from and with no compensation to the indigenous people themselves.

 What is Bio-prospecting?

• Bio-prospecting is an umbrella term describing the discovery of new and useful biological samples and mechanisms, typically in less-developed countries, either with or without the help of indigenous knowledge, and with or without compensation. In this way, bio-prospecting includes bio-piracy and also includes the search for previously unknown compounds in organisms that have never been used in traditional medicine.

 Bio-piracy problem in India:

• Till a decade ago, around 2,000 wrong patents regarding Indian medicine systems were being granted annually at international level due to lack of evidence provided by India.
• Ø  On an average, it takes five to seven years to oppose a granted patent at international level that may cost $0.2-$0.6 million. 

 Worldwide opposition to biological piracy' is rapidly building up as more and more groups and people become aware that big corporations are reaping massive profits from using the knowledge and biological resources of Third World communities. There is growing public outrage that these companies are being granted patents for products and technologies that make use of the genetic materials, plants and other biological resources that have long been identified, developed and used by farmers and indigenous peoples, mainly in countries of the South. Whilst the corporations stand to make huge revenues from this process, the local communities are unrewarded and in fact face the threat in future of having to buy the products of these companies at high prices.