Companies specializing in generic pharmaceuticals in India and the U.S. have retained India First Group to promote the benefits of affordable access to medicine as vital to improving healthcare worldwide. India First Group is a strategic advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. and New Delhi that assists U.S. companies pursuing business opportunities in India and supports Indian companies investing in the U.S.

India First Group will form the Coalition for Affordable Care, which aims to counter negative advocacy campaigns. India First Group said a campaign—backed by pharma organizations including PhRMA, the Global Intellectual Property Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers—continues to downgrade the reputation of Indian pharmaceuticals to maintain market share and destroy competition.

India First Group's mission, under the leadership of former U.S.-India Business Council President Ron Somers, will be to mobilize like-minded constituents who support access to low-cost, high-quality alternatives to unaffordable, branded medicines. Because of the high price of these medicines, treatment for most of the world's population now is beyond the reach of the common man.

"With more and more American baby boomers requiring access to lower cost, high-quality medical treatments and medicines, they join most of the world's population—some five billion people—finding themselves unable to afford even basic care,” said Somers. “The time has come to let the truth be known on Capitol Hill, in the halls of government and across America, that Indian and U.S. manufacturers of generic drugs are producing high-quality medicines at a fraction of the price of branded pharmaceuticals. Short-sighted tactics and negative campaigns may have worked to preserve market share for these special interests previously, but history is not on their side."

Coalition for Affordable Care stakeholders support market-based pricing and the protection of intellectual property in line with global norms.