India: Jeevani Anti-Fatigue Drug
The Kani tribe of the southern Kerala state of India has for centuries used arogyapacha, a wild regional plant, to cure liver diseases. The Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), an independent Indian government research body, built on the Kani traditional knowledge with clinical research. TBGRI found the plant to contain anti-fatigue, immunity-enhancing and liver-protecting qualities and developed a drug now known as Jeevani.
TBGRI secured a patent for Jeevani in partnership with the Kani tribe in order to share the benefits of the sale of the drug. The agreement between the Kani and TBGRI stipulates that half of all the profit from sales of the drug returns to the Kani tribe. The tribe uses this income to fund general welfare projects in the Kani communities. This acclaimed benefit-sharing model was awarded the United Nations Equator Prize in 2002; recognizing outstanding local efforts to alleviate poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
However, TBGRI failed to capture full control of the drug. Although TBGRI filed a patent, it failed to register a trademark. Two American companies, Nutriscience Innovations and Herbal Holistics International have been selling herbal medicine under the name Jeevani. Then, in January 2006, US food supplement manufacturer and vitamin store chain, Great Earth Companies Inc, secured the trademark rights for Jeevani.
TBGRI claims that the American companies have wrongfully used the name Jeevani in order to sell their products. Currently, TBGRI sells Jeevani in India for the U.S. equivalent of $3 per pack. However, the US companies are selling Jeevani in foreign markets for $16 to $39 per pack. There is much potential gain for the Kani tribe and the Indian government to re-capture their control over then drug Jeevani.
