In TRIPS and Public Health

The document analyzes how the TRIPS Agreement's patent protections can hinder access to affordable medicines in developing countries by keeping prices high and preventing generic competition. It details available procurement options—such as price negotiation, generic purchasing, compulsory licensing, and parallel importation—and discusses the significance of the 2001 Doha Declaration in affirming the right of WTO members to protect public health. The text also highlights the challenges posed by 'TRIPS-Plus' provisions in bilateral free trade agreements and the specific needs of countries with limited pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.

• The TRIPS Agreement creates a conflict between encouraging pharmaceutical innovation through 20-year patents and ensuring public health access, as patents prevent competitors from entering the market with equivalent products, thereby keeping prices high.
• Developing countries have several mechanisms to lower medicine costs, including negotiating prices with patent holders, purchasing generic drugs, using compulsory licenses to authorize non-patent holder production, and utilizing parallel importation to source the lowest worldwide price for lawfully marketed medicines.
• The 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health affirmed that the TRIPS Agreement should be interpreted to support the right of WTO members to protect public health and promote 'access to medicines for all,' specifically confirming the right to grant compulsory licenses on any grounds.
• Countries with limited or no pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity face difficulties using compulsory licensing because TRIPS Article 31(f) requires production to be 'predominantly' for the local market; a 2003 agreement eventually made it easier to export generic drugs produced under such licenses, though critics argue the safeguards are onerous.
• Least developed WTO members are granted maximum flexibility, including the ability to delay the adoption and enforcement of pharmaceutical patents and data protection until at least January 2016.
• The United States is utilizing bilateral free trade agreements to implement 'TRIPS-Plus' commitments, which impose stricter intellectual property rules than the WTO requires, such as limiting the grounds for compulsory licenses and extending patent terms, thereby creating new barriers to generic medicine entry.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2003). In TRIPS and Public Health. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investment_sdc_dec_2003_9.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. In TRIPS and Public Health. 2003. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investment_sdc_dec_2003_9.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=In TRIPS and Public Health |date=2003 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investment_sdc_dec_2003_9.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2003trips, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{In TRIPS and Public Health}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2003}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/investment_sdc_dec_2003_9.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }