an Eldis Resource
Patents, access to medicines and the role of non-governmental organisations
Exploring the high cost of patented medicine as a barrier to treating illness
Authors:
N. Ford
Publisher:
Médecins Sans Frontières , 2004
This Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) paper looks at how patents adversely affect access to affordable medicines. Although effective medicine is available to treat many global diseases, one-third of the world’s population lacks access to these basic, but expensive drugs as a result of patent rights. While the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is meant to ensure that patent protection does not limit access to medicines, the ability of national governments to implement TRIPS in a way that ensures access to medicine is highly problematic.
The paper looks at the experiences in South Africa, Thailand, Kenya, and Guatemala, which illustrate the pressures that developing countries have faced when trying to adhere to the TRIPS Agreement in a way which protects public health. While NGOs and patient groups have played a major role in protecting public health, the author argues that strong action by governments is required to reconcile the interpretation of the TRIPS Agreement with public health concerns. [abstracted from author]
