New Delhi, May 28 -- As the trade deal negotiations between India and the US move towards finalisation, the pharmaceutical sector is at the heart of a significant give-and-take between the two countries.

According to two people familiar with the matter, India's proposals include supply of low-cost complex generic medicines at sharply reduced costs, patent reforms to allow earlier entry of generics in the US, increased US-based manufacturing by Indian pharma firms of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and fixed dosage forms (FDFs), and tariff exemptions for life-saving and critical medicines imported into India from the US.

An API is the main component of a drug (think paracetamol), while an FDF is a combination of two or more APIs...