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Understanding patents

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Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) ... countries in Africa and the Caribbean: Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Understanding patents


1
Understanding patents medicine access
  • the WTO,
  • free trade agreements
  • patent law

2
Key terms
  • The World Trade Organization (WTO)
  • Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
    Rights (TRIPS)
  • Compulsory licensing government gives
    compan(ies) permission to produce generics
  • Parallel importing countries resell patented
    drugs to other countries

3
Arent generics illegitimate?
Who paid for the RD on AIDS drugs? Taxpayers
did.
Source Harvard Med, 2000
4
Wrong assumption 1 High price High
production cost
Source Doctors Without Borders, 2001
5
Wrong assumption 2 Profits are going into RD
6
Wrong assumption 3 The pharmaceutical industry
will suffer from generic competition
  • Africa represents only 1.3 of the pharmaceutical
    market, and according to pharmas own employee,
    providing drugs for free in Africa would amount
    to little more than three days fluctuation in
    exchange rates (Washington Post, 2001)
  • Generic drugs have been produced cheaply in India
    for two decades, without infiltrating or
    undermining Western markets (Oxfam, 2003)

7
Pharma Profit Levels
8
Pharma profit levels
9
Problems with getting generics to the poor
  • The US Trade Representative (USTR) has threatened
    countries with trade sanctions if they try to
    import generics (Oxfam, 2002)
  • Even when not threatened, importing only patented
    drugs (without generic competition) reduces
    prices marginally, without helping most people
    (MSF, 2001)
  • Compulsory licensing helps more, but current
    rules make it almost impossible unless a country
    has pharmaceutical production facilities most
    poor countries dont (WTO, 2001)

10
A solution the Doha Declaration
  • Trade ministers signed this agreement to fix the
    problems
  • Preventing the USTR from threatening countries
    the TRIPS Agreement does not and should not
    prevent Members from taking measures to protect
    public health
  • Helping poor countries we recognize that WTO
    members with insufficient or no manufacturing
    capacities in the pharmaceutical sector could
    face difficulties in making effective use of
    compulsory licensing under the TRIPS Agreement.
    We instruct the Council for TRIPS to find an
    expeditious solution to this problem and to
    report to the General Council before the end of
    2002.

11
Did it work?
  • Before the deadline to potentially allow poor
    countries without manufacturing facilities to
    import generics
  • The USTR called a private meeting in Sydney and
    threatened other countries that it would withdraw
    from its agreements on other issues (CPTech,
    2002)
  • At the WTO Council Meeting weeks later, the USTR,
    under direct instructions from the White House,
    argued that the Doha Declaration was incorrectly
    written, and could not be enacted as planned
    (Financial Times, 2002)
  • Instead of finding a solution, the meetings
    broke down because the USTR refused to compromise

12
Why fight so hard for big pharmaceutical
companies?
13
The scale of political contributions
14
What happens now?
  • Many poor countries, which harbor 95 of those
    infected with HIV, along with thousands of
    sufferers from other treatable diseases, will not
    be able to import generic drugs unless this
    policy changes at the next WTO meeting (MSF,
    2003)
  • On February 10th, the WTO council meeting will
    begin to decide if this will be allowed
  • Meanwhile, the USTR is trying to slip in stronger
    anti-generic rules into a Western hemisphere
    trade act called the Free Trade Area of the
    Americas (FTAA)

15
Bushs Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief the
plan
  • 15 Billion over 5 years for prevention, care,
    and treatment
  • Goal Avoid 7 million new infections, treat 2
    million people with ARVs, care for 10 million
    more.
  • 14 target countries in Africa and the Caribbean
    Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti,
    Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda,
    South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia
  • Based on Uganda model

16
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Critical
questions
  • What funding will Congress actually approve? And
    where will it come from?
  • Pace and coverage?
  • Bilateral or multilateral?
  • What kind of prevention programs?
  • Will treatment programs use generics?

17
TRADE Our agenda for action
  • Targeting key White House officials involved in
    blocking the deal
  • Targeting Senator Kerry of Massachusetts, favored
    for the Democratic nomination for President
    accepted drug company donations, siding with big
    pharma on legislation while claiming to support
    the fight against AIDS
  • Protest in DC February 8th

18
FUNDING Agenda for Action
  • Focus efforts on the U.S. Senate, especially
    majority leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Sen. John
    Kerry (D-MA)
  • Call for maximum funding this year
  • Support directing the funds to Global Fund for
    AIDS, TB, and Malaria
  • Leverage contributions from other countries

19
More information
  • Come to Yale AIDS Network meetings
  • Mondays, 9pm in Dwight Hall
  • Email amy.kapczynski_at_yale.edu
  • www.geocities.com/medicinepolicy
  • Ustr_action-subscribe_at_yahoogroups.com
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