pharmaceutical
What Purpose Unitaid’s Patent Pool?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
This paper examines the wisdom of Unitaid's new patent pool for AIDS treatments, considering the weaknesses in the case for such a pool, the lessons from historical examples and the likely consequences for research and development.
Fake Scare About Fake Drugs
IPN Opinion article
EU pharmaceutical seizures are a good thing for India and for patients
Philippines: Enlarged market key to lower medicine costs
IPN Opinion article
The Manila Times covers IPN's recent symposium on IP, innovation and health in Manila.
Populism versus the poor
IPN Opinion article
Innovation by India's internationally competitive scientists suffers because of protectionist policies of the Government, says Roger Bate
Is the proposed cure for the world's health problems worse than the disease?
IPN Opinion article
Activists' claims that too many resources are being devoted to finding cures for the diseases of the rich at the expense of the poor are both wrong and dangerous. By using this as a spurious justicification to reform the way in which R&D is conducted will have the unintended consequence of stifling the innovation that will provide us with drugs to combat the diseases of the future.
Defending intellectual property
IPN Opinion article
\"Unfortunately, the outcome of Doha suggests that inventors in developing countries may only find true intellectual property protection in the first world. The costs and effort this inevitably entails would act as a serious disincentive to innovation, and those who did innovate would have little reason to cater to their own market under the threat of state sanctioned piracy.\"
The compulsory licensing anomaly
IPN Opinion article
If compulsory licensing is retained as a response to perceptions about market failure, it is necessary also to recognise the costs of state failure. As of now, the Uruguay Round agreement permits too much discretion to governments on compulsory licensing, with 'public interest' a deliciously vague expression. As a second-best solution, this needs to be disciplined. The powers granted for public non-commercial use are too broad and there are no guidelines on compensation and royalty payments. While the TRIPS agreement lays down a framework, it is unrealistic to expect that everything should be laid down in such an agreement. However, too much discretion is also undesirable as it leads to arbitrariness. If there is one lesson that emerges from the development experience of developing countries, it is that the costs of arbitrary government decision-making can be devastating. The market is inherently superior. While this is a message that extends to all sectors, it is particularly true of the pharmaceutical sector. Hence a review of TRIPS is in order.
Ending patents not the cure
IPN Opinion article
\"The problem with the ending of patent protection, though, is that in the long term we all lose, especially those in developing countries. And that will be the outcome if the pharmaceutical companies fail in their attempt starting on March 5 in Pretoria High Court to overturn legislation that allows patent-breaking anti-AIDS drugs to be imported from India...\"
Ending patents not the cure
IPN Opinion article
\"The problem with the ending of patent protection, though, is that in the long term we all lose, especially those in developing countries. And that will be the outcome if the pharmaceutical companies fail in their attempt starting on March 5 in Pretoria High Court to overturn legislation that allows patent-breaking anti-AIDS drugs to be imported from India...\"
