Question

What does the model of collaborative research with developing countries imply about licensing genetic versions of patented drugs for poor areas with HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis?

Answer 1

Nowadays the price of many drugs become unaffordable by most of the people especially in under developed and developing countries

IP (Intellectual property rights ) as a Tool to Facilitate Access to Medicines

In pharma, patents are considered as the most important IP protection tools, providing the owner exclusive rights to prevent use of the patented product or process without the consent of the owner for 20 years in a particular territory.

Compulsory licensing: defined when government allows someone else to produce the patented drug without the consent of the patent owner

This enables poor countries to get access the needed medicines from other countries that possess manufacturing capacity. (collaberation)

when this happens more and more pharma companies start to manufacture the drug and supply wiil be increased and the drug will also become cheaper

The therapeutic activity of a generic product is similar to that of innovators brand.

It is one the flexibilities on patent protection included in WTO (world trade organization) agreement on intellectual property (TRIPS : Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights)

Example :The medicines patent pool (MPP) aims to enable affordable production of HIV drugs