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TRIPS, Drugs and Public Health: Issues and Proposals (No. 2)

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USD 6.00 Publisher: TWN
ISBN: 983-9747-61-4
Year: 2001
No. of pages: 52
Size of book: 16.5cm x 24cm
Author: A Report by Third World Network
About the Book

Millions of people die each year of diseases which are preventable or treatable, and this health problem has assumed crisis proportions in the developing world. For most patients in the poor countries, the medicines to treat these lethal ailments are simply priced out of reach by producers who enjoy monopoly control over the manufacture and distribution of the drugs - control granted by rigorous intellectual property standards mandated under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

While the TRIPS regime is seen to be heavily tilted in favour of private intellectual property rights holders and against the public interest, there are provisions in the Agreement which allow Member countries to limit patent rights to address public-health needs. This report by Third World Network discusses the policy options permitted under these safeguards - two of the most important of which are compulsory licensing and parallel importation - to secure access to affordable medicines. Proposals are forwarded for clarifying these provisions to affirm developing countries' right to invoke them with full flexibility. As well, the report suggests amending TRIPS rules where required in order to ensure that the Agreement will not stand in the way of measures taken by developing countries to protect public health and to save human lives. 

Contents
  1. Introduction and background
    Health crisis in developing countries
    The TRIPS agreement and patents on drugs
    Special discussion on TRIPS and public health

  2. Patents and Prices
    Effects of patents and monopolies on prices

  3. The TRIPS agreement and access to medicines
    Compulsory licensing
    Parallel imports
    Obstacles to the use of compulsory licenses and parallel importation

  4. Tiered- or differential-pricing system

  5. Conclusions and proposals
    WTO members' rights to adopt effective compulsory licensing and parallel importation measures
    Bilateral and regional pressures
    A moratorium on dispute settlement cases
    Excluding the patenting of medicines
    Overall balancing of rights in TRIPS agreement
    Tiered or differential pricing
References

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This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 12 January, 2012.


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