TRIPS and FTAs have adverse impact on access to drugs

TRIPS and FTAs have adverse impact on access to drugs

Geneva, 3 Jun (Kanaga Raja) -- The WTO TRIPS Agreement and the TRIPS-plus
provisions in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have had an adverse impact on
prices and availability of medicines, making it difficult for countries to
comply with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to
health, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Mr Anand Grover,
said on Tuesday.

Similarly, lack of capacity coupled with external pressures from developed
countries has made it difficult for developing countries and least developed
countries (LDCs) to use TRIPS flexibilities to promote access to medicines.
States need to take steps to facilitate the use of TRIPS flexibilities.

Furthermore, developing countries and LDCs should not introduce TRIPS-plus
standards in their national laws. Developed countries should not encourage
developing countries and LDCs to enter into TRIPS-plus FTAs and should be
mindful of actions which may infringe upon the right to health.

These were some of the key recommendations made by the rights expert in his
report (A/HRC/11/12) to the UN Human Rights Council, which began its regular
eleventh session on Tuesday.

The Special Rapporteur recommended that developing countries and LDCs should
review their laws and policies and consider whether they have made full use
of TRIPS flexibilities or included TRIPS-plus measures, and if necessary
consider amending their laws and policies to make full use of the
flexibilities.

Developing countries and LDCs should also establish high patentability
standards and provide for exclusions from patentability of medicines - such
as new forms and new or second uses, and combinations - in order to address
evergreening and facilitate entry of generic medicines. They should adopt
the principle of international exhaustion and provide for parallel
importation with simplified procedures in their national laws.

In addition, developing countries and LDCs need to incorporate in their
national patent laws all possible grounds upon which compulsory licences,
including government use, may be issued. Such laws provide straightforward,
transparent procedures for rapid issue of compulsory licences. There is also
a need to revisit the 30 August decision (of the WTO General Council) and
provide for a simpler mechanism.

In presenting his report to the Council, the Special Rapporteur noted that
nearly two billion people lack access to essential medicines, and massive
inequalities still remain regarding access to health services and medicines
around the world, which is partly due to high costs. Improving access to
medicines could save 10 million lives a year, 4 million in Africa and South
East Asia.

"It is clear that intellectual property (IP) rights have an impact on the
enjoyment of the right to health as it directly affects affordability of
medicines," said Grover.

The report by the Special Rapporteur explores the impact of the Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and "TRIPS
plus" standards on access to medicines within the broader framework of the
right to health.

Referring to the work done by former Special Rapporteur on the right to
health, Mr Paul Hunt, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) on trade and intellectual property issues relevant to the
right to health, the rights expert found that these reports highlighted the
need for TRIPS flexibilities to be implemented and noted the adverse impacts
of FTAs on access to medicines.

The full use of TRIPS flexibilities can help countries meet their
obligations to protect, promote and fulfil the right to health by improving
access to affordable medicines. However, that use of TRIPS flexibilities has
been variable and that there are growing instances of developing countries
and LDCs adopting TRIPS-plus standards that may have an adverse effect on
the right to health.

The rights expert stressed the need to revisit trade-related agreements in
light of their impact on the right to health and in particular, on access to
medicines.

He further noted that the right to health, enshrined in numerous
international and regional human rights treaties and in many national
constitutions, is an inclusive right, extending not only to timely and
appropriate health care, but also to the underlying determinants of health,
such as access to clean water and sanitation, adequate housing and nutrition
as well as social determinants such as gender, racial and ethnic
discrimination and disparities.

He emphasized that, if integrated into national and international health
policy-making, the right to health can help establish laws, policies and
practices that are sustainable, equitable, meaningful and responsive to the
needs of those living in poverty.

According to the report, health trends indicate that despite progress made
in the last 30 years, massive inequalities remain in access to health
services and medicines around the world. "Diseases of poverty" (i. e.
communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional diseases) still account
for 50% of the burden of disease in developing countries, nearly ten times
higher than in developed countries.

There has been a resurgence of tuberculosis and malaria in the last decade:
58% of malaria cases occur in the poorest 20% of the world population and
each year there are nearly 529,000 maternal deaths.

The inability of populations to access medicines is partly due to high
costs, said the report. In the context of HIV, as of 2007, only 31% of
people living with HIV who needed treatment received it. In addition, it is
estimated that people living with HIV will become resistant to their
first-line medicine regimens and will need second-line treatment which can
currently cost between 9 and 19 times as much as first-line medicines.

IP law has an impact on the right to health, as it protects pharmaceutical
products. Patents create monopolies, limit competition and allow patentees
to establish high prices. In regard to medicines, a product patent enables a
patentee to set high prices.

Generic competition in the field of pharmaceuticals has the potential to
significantly lower prices and increase access, said the report, pointing
out that in 2001, when the HIV crisis was at its peak and the need for
antiretrovirals (ARVs) was the most acute, it was the availability of
cheaper generic ARVs from developing countries that led to a reduction in
prices from over $10,000 per patient per year to less than $350 per patient
per year for a first-line combination therapy. Today, generic competition
has helped reduce prices of first generation ARVs by more than 99%.

The importance of generic medicines continues to be underscored today by
their prominence in international medicine supply programmes. However, the
continued supply of generic medicines is now in doubt, said the report.

For developing countries including those that manufacture and supply generic
medicines, the deadline for TRIPS compliance and the introduction of product
patents came in 2005. With this deadline, there is concern that the ability
of companies to patent new pharmaceutical products on a near-global scale
could inhibit further competition and prevent the price reductions needed to
make antiretroviral therapy more widely available.

Developing countries and LDCs should be enabled to take steps to modulate
the implementation of TRIPS on access to medicines including by encouraging
competition and being able to access affordable generic versions of patented
medicines, the rights expert recommended.

The rights expert also noted that the WTO TRIPS Agreement was one of the
most controversial agreements, as developed countries pushed for extensive
IP protection and the harmonization of IP norms. Developing countries argued
that extensive IP standards would hinder their development prospects as they
were not well-equipped to reap the benefits of such standards. Developing
countries eventually gave way, under the pressure of developed countries as
they were ultimately dependent on them for trade.

From a right-to-health perspective, said the rights expert, developing
countries and LDCs should be enabled to use TRIPS flexibilities. Their
national laws should incorporate the flexibility to: make full use of the
transition periods; define the criteria of patentability; issue compulsory
licences and provide for government use; adopt the international exhaustion
principle, to facilitate parallel importation; create limited exceptions to
patent rights; and allow for opposition and revocation procedures.

In addition, countries need to have strong pro-competitive measures to limit
abuse of the patent system.

The importance of the transition period is underscored by the fact that the
absence of product patents on medicines can help establish local
manufacturing capacity, promote generic manufacturing and facilitate the
import of affordable medicines from other countries, said the report, adding
that developing countries that have been successful in the use of the
transition period in any of these respects may present good examples for
LDCs to consider in adapting to their own needs and circumstances.

With regards to patentability criteria, the report said that from a
right-to-health perspective, the "evergreening" of patents by pharmaceutical
companies is of particular concern.

Evergreening refers to the practice of obtaining new patents on a patented
medicine by making minor changes to it. For example, patents are obtained on
new uses, forms, combinations and formulations of known medicines in a bid
to extend the period of the patentee's monopoly. Such evergreening delays
the entry of competitive generic medicines into the market.

The freedom to set high patentability criteria and exclude certain
inventions is an important tool that countries can use to address
evergreening and ensure that patents are granted only to genuine inventions
in the pharmaceutical field. Thus, countries can deny patents on new uses,
forms, formulations or combinations of known medicines, said the rights
expert.

He noted, for example, that India and the Philippines exclude from
patentability new forms of known substances unless they are significantly
more efficacious and new (or second) uses and combinations of known
substances. Reducing the number of patents granted on medicines can limit
the impact of patents on access to medicines and facilitate the early entry
of generic competition.

Countries with little or no manufacturing capacity face difficulties in
utilizing compulsory licences to import generic medicines. The report noted
that this difficulty was recognized by the Doha Declaration, pursuant to
which the WTO General Council provided a framework to address this issue
through the decision of 30 August 2003.

However, countries have faced difficulties in implementing the 30 August
decision as it entails complex administrative procedures. Even though a
number of potential exporting countries amended their national laws to
incorporate the 30 August decision, their regulations have added further
administrative requirements that make it difficult to implement.

The first and only case of export of a patented medicine under the 30 August
decision occurred in 2008 to Rwanda, five years after the adoption of the
decision. "The case of Rwanda highlights the need to revisit the decision."

The report found that the use of anti-competition law can be an important
tool to promote access to medicines. TRIPS Article 31, for example, allows a
relaxation of certain restrictions, such as prior negotiation with patentees
and predominantly domestic use, relating to compulsory licences which may be
useful to remedy anti-competitive practices.

There is a need for countries to adopt and effectively apply pro-competitive
measures allowed under TRIPS to prevent or remedy anti-competitive practices
having a bearing on the use of patented medicines.

The rights expert also found that developing countries, while attempting to
implement TRIPS flexibilities in order to address public health concerns,
have experienced pressures from developed countries and multinational
pharmaceutical corporations.

The report illustrates the cases of South Africa, Thailand and India
experiencing pressures in this regard. In 1996, South Africa adopted a new
National Drugs Policy with the goal of "ensuring an adequate and reliable
supply of safe, cost-effective drugs of acceptable quality to all citizens
of South Africa".

Following the principles of the Policy, the South African Government amended
its existing Medicines Act to improve access to medicines. In response,
South Africa was placed on the United States Special 301 Watch List and 39
pharmaceutical companies filed a suit, challenging the amendments,
contending that they would destroy patent protections by giving the Health
Minister overly broad powers to produce or import cheaper versions of drugs
still under patent. Worldwide public outrage eventually led to a change in
the US position and to the withdrawal of the lawsuit by the pharmaceutical
companies in 2001.

Thailand also faced pressure following its attempts to lower prices of
medicines through compulsory licensing. Between 2006 and 2007, Thailand
issued compulsory licences for HIV and heart disease medicines in order to
meet its obligations to provide universal access to medicines. In 2007,
Thailand was placed on the Special 301 Priority Watch List.

The report also highlighted India facing pressure for its attempt to use
safeguards. In 2005, India included strict patentability criteria in its
patent law to address the evergreening of patents. This provision was
challenged by a pharmaceutical company in the Madras High court alleging it
was a violation of TRIPS and of the constitutional equality provision. The
amendment was upheld, among other grounds as a fulfilment of the right to
health obligations of the Government.

The experiences of South Africa, Thailand and India provide examples of
difficulties countries have had to overcome to implement TRIPS
flexibilities. Although they were successful in their attempts, there is
fear that pressure from developed countries and pharmaceutical companies
will thwart future actions, said Grover.

The report underscored that few LDCs have local manufacturing capacities or
any technological base to fully take advantage of TRIPS or TRIPS
flexibilities. In this regard, concrete steps towards the specific
obligation under Article 66, paragraph 2, of TRIPS of developed countries to
provide incentives to promote and encourage technology transfer to LDCs in
order to enable them to create a sound and viable technological base should
be encouraged.

Turning to the issue of FTAs and their imposition of TRIPS-plus standards,
the report said that many countries have signed or are currently engaged in
negotiations on extensive trade agreements, including bilateral investment
treaties (BITs), FTAs, economic partnership agreements (EPAs) etc. Such
agreements have extensive implications for pharmaceutical patent protection,
which can directly impact access to medicines. Some developed countries, for
example, have negotiated FTAs which reflect their standard of IP protection.

These agreements are usually negotiated with little transparency or
participation from the public, and often establish TRIPS-plus provisions.
These provisions undermine the safeguards and flexibilities that developing
countries sought to preserve under TRIPS. Studies indicate that TRIPS-plus
standards increase medicine prices as they delay or restrict the
introduction of generic competition, said the report.

"As FTAs can directly affect access to medicines, there is a need for
countries to assess multilateral and bilateral trade agreements for
potential health violations and that all stages of negotiation remain open
and transparent."

The report noted that TRIPS-plus provisions in FTAs differ from agreement to
agreement, but their purposes are by and large to: extend the patent term;
introduce data exclusivity; introduce patent linkage with drug registration
and approval; and create new enforcement mechanisms for IPRs.

With respect to TRIPS-plus IP enforcement, the Special Rapporteur expressed
concern over reports of IP enforcement measures that have resulted in
multiple seizures at some ports of shipments of generic medicines heading to
developing countries and LDCs. Such regulations impose a far higher standard
of IPR enforcement than that required by TRIPS, which requires that IP
enforcement measures should not create barriers to legitimate trade.

"In effect, such actions can bring to naught TRIPS flexibilities exercised
by developing countries and LDCs, and de facto impose IP protection on LDCs
that are not yet required to comply with TRIPS as generic medicines they
need do not reach them. In particular, the use of compulsory licensing or
the 30 August decision to export and import medicines is effectively
negated," the rights expert said. +