Category Access to Medicine

Letter to President Ramaphosa on the Proposed Covid-19 Waiver, by 43 South Africa and India at the WTO, From South Africa-Affiliated Academics, Researchers and Teachers

South Africa, along with India, has adopted a ground-breaking position at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with the tabling of the proposal for a “Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19”. The proposal will be on the agenda of the WTO TRIPS Council on 15-16 October 2020. As a group of academics, researchers and teachers affiliated to various South African institutions, we declare our strong support for this proposal.

South Africa and India’s Proposal to Waive Recognition and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights for COVID-19 Medical Technologies Deserves Universal Support, But Countries Also Have to Take Domestic Measures

On October 2, India and South Africa petitioned the World Trade Organization (WTO) to allow all WTO members to bypass granting or enforcement of patents, trade secrets, industrial designs, and copyrights on COVID-19-related drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other medical technologies for the duration of the pandemic – until global ‘herd immunity’ is achieved. The proposed “Waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19” should be promptly and emphatically supported by governments, international institutions, global health initiatives, and all of civil society—from health workers, to academics, and access-to-medicines activists.

A New Trend in Trade Agreements: Ensuring Access to Cancer Drugs

[Maria Fabiana Jorge] Abstract: ... prices are clearly out of reach for most patients who will need them increasingly more to stay alive. While competition is critical to ensure lower drug prices, we have seen a number of strategies, including through trade agreements, to prevent competition and extend monopolies over these drugs and their very high drug prices. It is no accident that the exclusivity granted to biologic drugs has been one of the most conflictive provisions in recent trade agreements such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Nevertheless a new trend in trade agreements started in 2007 when U.S. Members of Congress pushed back against the interests of powerful economic groups seeking longer monopolies for drugs.

Re-thinking Global and Local Manufacturing of Medical Products After COVID-19

[Germán Velásquez] The unprecedented global health crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since the first quarter of 2020 has reopened the now-urgent discussion about the role of local pharmaceutical production in addressing the health needs in developing countries. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the interdependencies in the global production of pharmaceuticals—no country is self-sufficient.

Sen. Tillis Asks USTR to “Prioritize Strong Intellectual Property Protections” in Agreement with India

Thom Tillis, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, has written U.S Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer asking him to "prioritize strong intellectual property protections" in a trade agreement currently under negotiation with India. His letter states that "India has an unusually restrictive market when it comes to biopharmaceutical innovations," and notes that it is regularly included in the Special 301 Report.

Analysis of Special 301 Listings, 2009-2020

Since its inception, the Special 301 Report has been an instrument used by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to pressure foreign nations to change their laws at the behest of American business interests. Policies that allow countries to access lower-priced generic medicines feature prominently in USTR’s allegations of inadequate, ineffective protection of intellectual property. This working paper reviews trends in Special 301 listings over the past 12 years.

United States: An Obsolete Trade Practice Undermines Access to the Most Expensive Drugs at More Affordable Prices

[Maria Fabiana Jorge] Access to affordable drugs is a top policy priority for the United States with real bipartisan support but it increasingly seems to be an unreachable goal, in part, due to conflicting government policies. While the Administration’s Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs highlighted the importance of competition to ensure lower drug prices, U.S. trade policy in general, and the Special 301 Annual Review in particular, do exactly the opposite: broaden and lengthen the monopolies granted to pharmaceutical companies thus delaying or deterring the launch of generic and biosimilar drugs and with that, the chances of lowering drug prices.

The TRIPS Agreement Article 73 Security Exceptions and the COVID-19 Pandemic

[Frederick Abbott] Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused Governments to contemplate measures to override patents and other intellectual property rights (IPRs) in order to facilitate production and distribution of vaccines, treatments, diagnostics and medical devices. This paper discusses whether the COVID-19 pandemic may be considered an “emergency in international relations” and how WTO Member States may invoke Article 73 (“Security Exceptions”) of the TRIPS Agreement as the legal basis for overriding IPRs otherwise required to be made available or enforced. It concludes that the pandemic constitutes an emergency in international relations within the meaning of Article 73(b)(iii) and that this provision allows Governments to take actions necessary to protect their essential security interests.

From Struggle to Surge: China’s TRIPS Experience and Its Lessons for Access to Medicines

[Peter Yu] Abstract: The WTO TRIPS Agreement has imposed unprecedented burdens on countries in the developing world. Although many developing and least developed countries continue to struggle with the Agreement's high intellectual property protection and enforcement standards, large or populous emerging economies, such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa, Thailand, have managed to adapt the Agreement with some success. As economic and technological conditions improved, these emerging economies began to secure even greater benefits from the TRIPS-based intellectual property system, thereby initiating a self-reinforcing virtuous cycle. Out of all emerging economies, no country provides a better illustration for a complete transformation of its intellectual property system and pharmaceutical landscape than China.

Expanding Access to Patents for COVID-19

[Jorge L. Contreras] Abstract: Two competing and linked sets of goals must be addressed when considering patent policy in response to a public health emergency. First is the allocation of existing resources among potential users (hospitals, patients, etc.); second is the creation of new technologies over time (innovation).

Webinar: Presentation of the MedsPaL Database by AMINA MAILLARD, Medicines Patent Pool

[Webinar - Sep 15, 2020; 10:00am] MedsPaL is the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP)’s patents and licenses database, a free resource provides information on the intellectual property status of selected patent essential medicines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The database includes patent and licensing data covering over 8,500 national patent applications on 110 priority medicines (220 formulations) in more than 130 LMICs. In March 2020, it was expanded to provide patent information on treatments currently being tested for COVID-19. The database is available at www.medspal.org.