Pharmaceutical Industry — Policy Reforms

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
Patents (Amendment) Act	2005	Introduced product patents for pharmaceuticals to comply with TRIPS agreement, ending the era of process patents that enabled easy reverse engineering of patented drugs.	Transformed industry focus toward complex generics, biosimilars, and innovation while maintaining access through provisions like Section 3(d) preventing patent evergreening.
Drug Price Control Order (DPCO)	2013	Replaced DPCO 1995 with a new pricing mechanism based on market-based pricing for essential medicines listed in NLEM, covering 384 drug formulations.	Balanced affordability with industry viability, reduced scope of price control while ensuring access to essential medicines through targeted intervention.