Synergies Summit: infectious innovation from India

Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 3:23 AM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 2026 -- 6/16/2009 >>>>>

In a recent newsletter, the Synergies Summit that starts June 16th in
Washington DC was discussed. This "summit" has a fancy sounding name but it's
just a veneer for a lobbying campaign by Indian and U.S. business interests to
push for more H-1Bs and more offshoring to India.

It's not just electronics and computer programming the Indians are lobbying
for either. I can't quite figure out what the shake down is in the
pharmaceutical industry but supposedly Indian drug companies are going to
release a report about a new plan to develop, "safer, more efficacious, and
more useful drugs for Indian patients."

Call me a cynic but it seems a big stretch that Indian millionaires and U.S.
politicians are getting together to chat about how to improve the health of
low income Indians. The timing is interesting since the presentation closely
follows President Obama's speech on health care reform.

Somehow the summit ties into India's desire to win more offshored drug
research. They also seem to be seeking patent protection for what they call
"Incremental Pharmaceutical Innovation", which is probably just another way of
saying that they want the U.S. to grant Indian companies patents for drugs
that are almost the same as the ones that our taxpayers paid to develop in our
own research labs. The following statement by Joe Smith, Vice-President at
Johnson & Johnson, should set your alarm bells off:

J&J doesn't view India as an emerging market and felt infectious
innovation can come from India, he added.

Just what we need -- more infections coming from India. LOL!

The lists of guests are very large but so far there doesn't seem to be
invitees who have best the interests of the American public in mind.
Techsunite is trying to organize a Tea-Party like counter-protest. The only
reason I know about their protest is that I stumbled into their announcement
while doing Google searches. Whoever called for this protest isn't going out
of their way to publicize what they are doing, but hopefully some angry
Americans will somehow find out about it.

Tea-Parties have been successful because a broad coalition of conservative
activists who worked together to publicize and organize their public meetings.
Hopefully Techsunite and/or the CWA will use the next 24 hours to do something
to publicize the protest besides posting obscure web pages.

Good luck, Techsunite!

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http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090615006507&newsLang=en

June 15, 2009 08:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time US-India Business Council and
Coalition for Healthy India to Release Report on the Value of Incremental
Pharmaceutical Innovation for Indian Patients and Indian Business

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The US-India Business Council (USIBC) and the
Coalition for Healthy India (CHI) will launch a major new study at a press
event titled "The Value of Incremental Pharmaceutical Innovation: Benefits for
Indian Patients and Indian Business" at USIBC s 34th Anniversary Synergies
Summit on June 17th in Washington DC. Along with USIBC and CHI, Mr. David
Simmons, President and General Manager, Established Products Business Unit,
Pfizer, will participate in the press event

Commissioned by the USIBC and CHI, and funded by the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce s Innovation, Development and Employment Alliance, the report was
produced by White & Case LLP and Dua Consulting. The report reasons that
Section 3(d) of India s Patents Act, which prevents incremental pharmaceutical
innovations from receiving patent protection, inhibits development of safer,
more efficacious, and more useful drugs for Indian patients.

Drawing upon studies of the impact of incremental pharmaceutical innovations
on the economies of developed and developing nations, interviews with key
stakeholders in the Indian pharmaceutical sector, and other methods, the
report identifies a broad range of potential benefits of incremental
pharmaceutical innovation for India.

USIBC s 34th Anniversary "Synergies Summit", which will be attended by Hillary
Clinton, United States Secretary of State; Gary Locke, United States Secretary
of Commerce; Ambassador Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative; Anand
Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, and US and
Indian industry titans such as USIBC Board Chairman, Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman
and CEO, PepsiCo; Anil Ambani, Chairman and CEO, Reliance -- ADA Group; Azim
Premji, Chairman, Wipro, and Sy Sternberg, Retired Chairman and CEO, New York
Life Insurance Company, provides an ideal backdrop for the release of this
report underscoring the critical role that the protection of incremental
pharmaceutical innovation must have in ensuring the development of new drug
products that meet the needs of Indian patients.

The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), formed in 1975 at the request of the
Government of India and the U.S. Government to deepen trade and strengthen
commercial ties is hosted under the aegis of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The
U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world s largest business federation
representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size,
sector and region.

Coalition for Healthy India brings together like-minded members of the U.S.
and Indian business communities, non-governmental organizations, patient
advocacy organizations and health professionals to coordinate and support
improved access to healthcare in India.

www.usibc.com

Contacts

U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC)
Greg Kalbaugh, 202-463-5778
gkalbaugh@uschamber.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20090615006507/en
http://www.usibc.com

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http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/jun/09/india-can-become-a-global-pharma-innovation-hub-experts.htm

June 09, 2009
India can become a global pharma innovation hub: Experts

India has the potential to emerge as a global innovation hub and the US's
collabortion with Indian pharma and health companies will not only help the
two countries, but also entire world, eminent experts and industry leaders
said.

Speaking in favour of the US forging collaborations with Indian firms and
academic institutes in the field of biopharma and healthcare sector, Pfizer [
Get Quote ] President (Global R&D) Martin Mackay said not only there is a
great willingness to collaborate in India, there is a great ability of Indian
companies to adapt to western needs.

India can be a major centre for innovation globally said Joe Smith, vice-
president at Johnson & Johnson.

J&J doesn't view India as an emerging market and felt infectious innovation
can come from India, he added.

William Chin, vice-president, Discovery Research & Clinical Investigation, Eli
Lilly, felt the pharma industry is under siege with flood of patent expiries,
higher safety hurdles and pricing pressure.

As the sector is facing the problem of managing the huge data at its disposal,
Chin said India with its IT strengths can play a vital role.

Lilly has moved beyond level 1 partnerships, based on cost arbitrage, to level
II based on partnerships of shared rewards and risks in India. Lilly would
eventually like to move towards level III partnerships based on equity stake
in Indian companies to share success, he said.

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http://techsunite.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53:synergies-summit-protest&catid=34:news-from-washtech&Itemid=60

Synergies Summit Protest in D.C.

Friday, 12 June 2009 02:39 |

The ''Synergies Summit" of United States India Business Council is going to be
held on June 17 in Washington D.C. when three of its top officials, including
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will be present. The CEO of WiPro (an
Indian I.T. outsourcing company that is resisting calls to hire Americans in
this country), Azim Premji, will be there. The summit is likely to spell out
the Obama administration's policy for India.

A "Tea Party"-like protest is being organized by the Pro American Worker
organization and they need your help. They need people in the D.C. area to
peacefully assemble and voice their displeasure over the discrimination of
American workers by the Indian outsourcing lobby, which has donated millions
to Hillary Clinton and other politicians of both parties.
This "Summit" is being sponsored by United States Chamber of Commerce, an
organization that supports the denigration, discrimination, and displacement
of American workers.

Where:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
1615 H St. NW
Washington, DC

When:
June 17th
9:00 am - 4:00 pm

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