Drug Patents Under Assault - NCPA, November 2002

Excerpt:The Wall Street Journal warns that countries and allied activist groups are trying to use the latest World Trade Organization negotiations, called the Doha round, to strip away protection for drug patents.

• Last year’s Doha declaration said the world’s poorest countries should be allowed to ignore patents when faced with epidemics including HIV, malaria and TB.
• The United States went along with the measure because of its narrow scope, and even the U.S. drug industry didn’t object.
• But the list of alleged justifications for patent seizure is growing — the latest drafts would allow any country to import copycat drugs when faced with any self-declared epidemic — be it cancer or erectile dysfunction.

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