Bitter Pills:Medicines & The Third World Poor | Page 36
of drugs and some intermediates.
(l0)
Little more than a handful of developing countries have an advanced drug industry.
Between them, India, Egypt, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and South Korea account
for two-thirds of all Third World production. With the exception of Korea, these
countries all have a chemical industry capable of producing most drug
intermediates, and the technical expertise to carry out research and development
into drugs and manufacturing processes. Indian state-owned and private
companies now export not only drugs but also their own technology to other
developing countries. (ll)
Despite the sophisticati on of local production, even India, Brazil, Mexico and
other industrialised countries still rely on foreign manufacturers for some bulk
drugs, chemical intermediates, and advanced production technology. For example,
in 1978/9 India was still importing over 40% of its bulk drug requirements and
a recent study on foreign technology in the Indian pharmaceutical industry
highlights the fact that the local industry is held back because it lacks advanced
technology developed by foreign manufacturers. (12)
The continuing dominance of foreign firms in the Third World drug market is
confirmed by a 1981 report from the United Nations Centre for Transnational
Corporations (UNCTC), which includes case studies on developing countries with
varying degrees of local production.