Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) urged the Central Government in India to reward innovators by creating a favorable climate for patent issuance in India. For that purpose, the company wants an open dialogue from the establishment side. Some of the inventors believe that they are not getting adequate protection for their patents, which can stifle the development of new technologies.

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Rewarding Innovation

Eli Lilly’s Edgard Olaizola said that his company was driven by innovation and that it takes several years for it to create and develop a new medication. This involves investment risks as the company spends years of efforts to develop new products which are not known to work until they are ultimately tested in the market. As such, it is important that there be an accommodative environment rewarding innovation, according to Olaizola.

Lobbyists for for a series of drug makers in the United States are already seeking a favorable patent regime in India. Pharmaceutical developers were calling the current intellectual property environment in India as weak. To that end, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) pointed out procedural and substantive barriers in regulatory systems in every move of the patent process there. The body representing leading pharma and biotech firms has added India to its priority watch list.

Joint Approach With Stakeholders

Officials at Eli Lilly want the government there to ensure that there is a consultative approach with every stakeholder and for the approach to be transparent. Olaizola said that though it could see some improvement and progress, he wanted to see an environment where the government comes up with open dialogue. Last week, the company unveiled a new generation anti-diabetes drug in India, injectable once-a-week. The company has been well-known in India since it was the first one to commercialize insulin there in 1923.

Eli Lilly pointed out it has been operating in the diabetes field for more than nine decades. Currently, India is said to have over 65 million people affected by diabetes. Olaizola said that its goal was to make its drugs accessible to everyone. In the next three-year period, the company is looking to unveil four new products, while pointing out that 85% of its sales in India were for diabetes drugs.