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Access to Medicines
PIJIP provides research assistance and representation to local and international organizations, developing country governments, state and local governments, and others seeking to facilitate access to affordable medications in the U.S. and abroad. Some of PIJIP's recent activities have included submitting briefs in federal appellate courts and testifying before legislatures supporting state efforts to regulate medicine prices, analyzing the impact of free trade agreements on access to medicines in developing countries, and providing legal research to AIDS Activists in South Africa investigating competition claims against multinational pharmaceutical companies. PIJIP monitors ongoing trade disputes over protection of intellectual property and access to medicines and the industry-driven effort to increase IP enforcement worldwide.
Intellectual Property, US Trade Policy and Health
PIJIP research and events explore the impact of intellectual property and trade policy on public health in the U.S. and abroad. Some of our research pages focus on specific trade disputes or bilateral Free Trade Agreements, while others address more general issues of American trade and innovation policy.
COMPULSORY LICENSING DISPUTE IN THAILAND
Between late 2006 and early 2008, the Thai Ministry of health issued compulsory licenses on seven drugs - two for AIDS, one for heart disease, and four for cancer. At the urging of the branded pharmaceutical industry, the US Trade Representative has pressured Thailand to revoke the licenses (for instance, through inclusion of Thailand in the 2007 and 2008 Special 301 Reports), as have certain government officials of the EU.
CANADA TO EXPORT GENERIC ANTIRETROVIRALS PRODUCED UNDER COMPULSORY LICENSE TO RWANDA
Apotex has been awarded a tender from the Rwandan Government for the ltriple combination AIDS drug "Apo Triavir". It is the first company to provide this medicine to Africa the WTO's 2003 agreement to allow medicines produced under compulsoty license to be exported.
Korea and the United States signed the
Korea-US Free Trade Agreement in June 2007. Like other recent free trade agreements, the
Korean FTA includes intellectual property provisions that exceed WTO rules on
patents and registration data, designed to delay the entry of generic drugs into
the Korean market. Additionally, the Korea-US FTA includes a chapter on
pharmaceuticals and medical devices which imposes rules on the reimbursement of
drugs under Korea's national insurance.
COMPETITION (ANTITRUST) LAW AND AND ACCESS TO MEDICINES
INDIAN COURT CASE ON NEW PATENTS ACT
SECOND GENERATION ANTIRETROVIRALS
BRAZIL (time line on compulsory licensing)
US GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, TRADE AND HEALTHCARE
BALANCING INNOVATION AND ACCESS TO MEDICINES
State Policy on Prescription Drug Prices
PIJIP provides legal and policy advice and supports research and public education on the legality of state and local government measures to temper the effects of extreme monopoly pricing of patented medicines.
Partners
PIJIP works with other civil society groups concerned with access to medicine and innovation at both the international and domestic levels. Some of the groups were work with are linked below.
Attribution for photos posted on flickr.com under a creative commons license: Teaser image of pills posted online by bitzi. Photo of protester with bullhorm by Matt Kavanaugh. Photo of green pills by sparktography. Photo of Korean FTA protester taken from Huffington Post blog by James Love.
