Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Ellen R. Shaffer, PhD MPH and Joseph Brenner, MA. CPATH, 98 Seal Rock Drive, San Francisco, CA 94121, 415-933-6204, ershaffer@cpath.org

Issue: The United Nations and World Health Organization estimate that over 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV, and this number continues to grow. Just as medicines are becoming increasingly unaffordable for individuals and government purchasers in high-income countries, they remain far out of reach in the developing world. Global trade rules on intellectual property play a key role in determining access to medicines. The session will include an overview of trade issues as they relate to access to medicines, including compulsory licensing and generic production. Specific program and country examples will be used to illustrate larger global phenomena.

Description: Global and regional trade agreements such as TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) extend monopoly rights for pharmaceutical companies and delay generic production. Trade rules and laws on intellectual property and patents present obstacles to obtaining affordable medicines in the U.S. and internationally. These policy measures are generally not effective at encouraging innovation in research and development of new drugs. However, there is widespread confusion about these measures and their application. Certain intellectual property trade rules have come into effect in 2005 and 2006 in countries that provide significant generic competition to brand name drugs, including in India, China, and Guatemala. These new policies present still more challenges to generic production. This presentation will provide an update on recent events.

Lessons learned and recommendations: The authors will provide an assessment of the prospects for implementing alternative measures, based on analysis, research and interviews in critical countries. Policy proposals to change the current framework for research and development of new drugs will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• 1) Identify at least two global trade agreements that affect access to AIDS medicines.
• 2) Discuss how trade rules hinder or delay production and access to generic drugs.
• 3) Explain how current patent laws discourage development of innovative new drugs.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation