This document discusses the issues around intellectual property rights (IPR) for pharmaceutical companies and access to HIV/AIDS drugs in developing countries. It provides details on:
- The US pharmaceutical industry initially opposing relaxation of IPR under WTO rules to allow generic drugs in developing countries like South Africa facing health crises.
- HIV/AIDS remaining a top global cause of death in 2008 despite decades of efforts, with most deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.
- The high costs of antiretroviral drug cocktails that made treatment unaffordable for most in developing countries.
- Pharmaceutical companies holding patents that limit competition from generic drugs and efforts by countries and organizations to expand access to affordable treatment
Speakers:
Paul Chipperton, Vice President, Business Development & Marketing, matREGEN
Nina Chagnon, Director of Business Development, MaRS Discovery District
For more information and the webcast link: http://www.marsdd.com/Events/Event-Calendar/BioEntrepreneurship/2007/business-models-12192007.html
Presentation at the Center for Professional Advancement (CFPA) Course on Generic Drug Approval, August 2013. New Brunswick, NJ., with a focus on the key basic provisions of the 1984 Hatch-Waxman Act
Partners Jon Gurka and Mauricio Uribe provided an overview of patent litigation in the United States. They provided insights and practical tips related to understanding patent litigation in the United States and developing effective litigation strategies, including phases, timelines and milestones, fees and costs, and legal remedies.
Speakers: Jon Gurka, Mauricio Uribe
BIOSIMILARS - Regulation and Market Trends Joseph Pategou
Nowadays patients and physicians can have access to three types of drugs: a originators, a generic or a biosimilar.
Those drugs have different regulatory systems that apply in Europe; moreover the biosimilars regulation is evolving and may change. Regulation is an important factor that can give more confidence to patients and healthcare professionals. As a consequence, biosimilaires will grow.
Speakers:
Paul Chipperton, Vice President, Business Development & Marketing, matREGEN
Nina Chagnon, Director of Business Development, MaRS Discovery District
For more information and the webcast link: http://www.marsdd.com/Events/Event-Calendar/BioEntrepreneurship/2007/business-models-12192007.html
Presentation at the Center for Professional Advancement (CFPA) Course on Generic Drug Approval, August 2013. New Brunswick, NJ., with a focus on the key basic provisions of the 1984 Hatch-Waxman Act
Partners Jon Gurka and Mauricio Uribe provided an overview of patent litigation in the United States. They provided insights and practical tips related to understanding patent litigation in the United States and developing effective litigation strategies, including phases, timelines and milestones, fees and costs, and legal remedies.
Speakers: Jon Gurka, Mauricio Uribe
BIOSIMILARS - Regulation and Market Trends Joseph Pategou
Nowadays patients and physicians can have access to three types of drugs: a originators, a generic or a biosimilar.
Those drugs have different regulatory systems that apply in Europe; moreover the biosimilars regulation is evolving and may change. Regulation is an important factor that can give more confidence to patients and healthcare professionals. As a consequence, biosimilaires will grow.
Procurement business model for a Retail Pharmacyjajoe510
Few months back, I was interviewed by a renowned International Chain of Pharmacy for their operations in Pakistan and was asked to submit a Procurement Strategy (right from the scratch) for their operations in Pakistan.
I am submitting the same for learning purpose for students, individuals, professionals and for myself also (so i can improvise through your comments / feedback)
Advances and investment in digital health is growing at an incredible rate and Contract Manufacturing Organizations and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations are becoming an essential part of the new pharma value chain. From wearables, to apps, to digital platforms, the data and efficiencies generated by these innovations are opening up important avenues across the pharma ecosystem. As pressure on improving drug development heats up, data, digital and technological innovations are critical to delivering the desired business and patient outcomes, promoting significantly more networking and outsourcing strategies. CMOs are evolving from service providers to strategic partners. CMOs now cover the entire value chain of pharma production, including specialized services such as R&D.
Decades ago, Peter Drucker was invited to address the senior management team at General Motors, he asked them a simple, but penetrating question: “Why should I buy a GM car?”
Many senior executives attempted to answer that simple question but, nobody was able to give a convincing answer! The senior managers at General Motors had unlearnt the art of winning customers by not being able to answer the simple question - “Why should I buy a GM car?” But they kept introducing more and more new models which less and less customers bought. And that was the prelude to GM’s decline and bankruptcy.
That question still resonates for every business including Indian Pharma. I wonder how many field sales people - Medical Reps and their managers can answer the question - Why Should the Doctor Rx Your Product? Having a clear answer to that question is the key to winning customers - be they doctors, chemists, distributors or hospitals.
As companies grow larger, hierarchies are created and sales processes like CRM/SFA evolve and become embedded. In the absence of a dynamic top leadership, hierarchy and processes become rigid and difficult to change even though rapidly changing market dynamics demand that they do. Bureaucracy slows down customer-centric decision making and inaction becomes part of the organisation's culture. The emphasis shifts from developing employees and winning customers to launching products and hitting numbers.
Peter Drucker rarely blamed individuals; he saw root causes in the design of organizations—in their structures, processes, norms, and routines. He would ask leaders a few provocative questions: “What is your mission? What should you stop doing? Where has the drive for short-term efficiencies undermined long-term effectiveness? What should be your objectives and guiding principles?”
Certificate of Free Sale is a document to prove that products are
legally sold in the market, without restriction, and approved by the regulatory authorities in the country of origin.
Institut Kurz is an accredited private standard monitoring body authorized to issue a Certificate of Free Sale.
Website: www.institut-kurz.com
Email: info@institut kurz.com
This presentation defines what is a Business Model and illustrates them using a Business Model Canvas. It identifies generic business models that are common in community pharmacies and provides examples.
Dr. amit gangwal ka pharmaceutical patent presentation
highly exhaustive and updated ppt on pharmaceutical patents, a must watch by all those concerned with the same.
Procurement business model for a Retail Pharmacyjajoe510
Few months back, I was interviewed by a renowned International Chain of Pharmacy for their operations in Pakistan and was asked to submit a Procurement Strategy (right from the scratch) for their operations in Pakistan.
I am submitting the same for learning purpose for students, individuals, professionals and for myself also (so i can improvise through your comments / feedback)
Advances and investment in digital health is growing at an incredible rate and Contract Manufacturing Organizations and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations are becoming an essential part of the new pharma value chain. From wearables, to apps, to digital platforms, the data and efficiencies generated by these innovations are opening up important avenues across the pharma ecosystem. As pressure on improving drug development heats up, data, digital and technological innovations are critical to delivering the desired business and patient outcomes, promoting significantly more networking and outsourcing strategies. CMOs are evolving from service providers to strategic partners. CMOs now cover the entire value chain of pharma production, including specialized services such as R&D.
Decades ago, Peter Drucker was invited to address the senior management team at General Motors, he asked them a simple, but penetrating question: “Why should I buy a GM car?”
Many senior executives attempted to answer that simple question but, nobody was able to give a convincing answer! The senior managers at General Motors had unlearnt the art of winning customers by not being able to answer the simple question - “Why should I buy a GM car?” But they kept introducing more and more new models which less and less customers bought. And that was the prelude to GM’s decline and bankruptcy.
That question still resonates for every business including Indian Pharma. I wonder how many field sales people - Medical Reps and their managers can answer the question - Why Should the Doctor Rx Your Product? Having a clear answer to that question is the key to winning customers - be they doctors, chemists, distributors or hospitals.
As companies grow larger, hierarchies are created and sales processes like CRM/SFA evolve and become embedded. In the absence of a dynamic top leadership, hierarchy and processes become rigid and difficult to change even though rapidly changing market dynamics demand that they do. Bureaucracy slows down customer-centric decision making and inaction becomes part of the organisation's culture. The emphasis shifts from developing employees and winning customers to launching products and hitting numbers.
Peter Drucker rarely blamed individuals; he saw root causes in the design of organizations—in their structures, processes, norms, and routines. He would ask leaders a few provocative questions: “What is your mission? What should you stop doing? Where has the drive for short-term efficiencies undermined long-term effectiveness? What should be your objectives and guiding principles?”
Certificate of Free Sale is a document to prove that products are
legally sold in the market, without restriction, and approved by the regulatory authorities in the country of origin.
Institut Kurz is an accredited private standard monitoring body authorized to issue a Certificate of Free Sale.
Website: www.institut-kurz.com
Email: info@institut kurz.com
This presentation defines what is a Business Model and illustrates them using a Business Model Canvas. It identifies generic business models that are common in community pharmacies and provides examples.
Dr. amit gangwal ka pharmaceutical patent presentation
highly exhaustive and updated ppt on pharmaceutical patents, a must watch by all those concerned with the same.
WalMart's Global Strategies. This Power Point Presentation was prepared for MGT 340 Class at Pace University.
This Presentation will help you answer the following questions:
What was Walmart’s early global expansion strategy? Why did it choose to first enter Mexico and Canada rather expand into Europe and Asia?
What cultural problems did Walmart face in some of the international markets it entered? Which early strategies succeeded and which failed? Why? What lessons did it learn from its experience in Germany and Japan?
How would you characterize Walmart’s Latin American strategy? What countries were targeted as part of this strategy? What potential does this region brings to Walmart’s future global expansion? What cultural challenges and opportunities has Walmart faced in Latin America?
What group of countries will be targeted for Walmart’s future growth? What are the attractiveness and risk profiles of these countries? What regions of the world do you think will be vital for Walmart’s future global expansion?
Please read below case and individually take the role of “NGOsAdvoc.pdfpallavi953613
Please read below case and individually take the role of “NGOs/Advocacy Groups” as one of the
important stakeholder.
Discuss the case, from your chosen stakeholder as “NGOs/Advocacy Groups” and perspective
analyzing the reasons for the current situation and the changes you would propose for the future,
supported with additionally researched relevant information.
Please mention your list of references and at least 400 words.
In-Depth Integrative Case 1.2
Pharmaceutical Companies, Intellectual Property,
and the Global AIDS Epidemic
In August 2003, after heavy lobbying from nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) such as Doctors Without
Borders, the U.S. pharmaceutical industry finally dropped
its opposition to relaxation of the intellectual property
rights (IPR) provisions under World Trade Organization
(WTO) regulations to make generic, low-cost antiviral
drugs available to developing countries like South Africa
facing epidemics or other health emergencies. 1 Although
this announcement appeared to end a three-year dispute
between multinational pharmaceutical companies, governments,
and NGOs over the most appropriate and effective
response to viral pandemics in the developing world, the
specific procedures for determining what constitutes a
health emergency had yet to be worked out. Nonetheless,
the day after the agreement was announced, the government
of Brazil said it would publish a decree authorizing
imports of generic versions of patented AIDS drugs that
the country said it could no longer afford to buy from
multinational pharmaceutical companies. Although the
tentative WTO agreement would appear to allow such
production under limited circumstances, former U.S. trade
official Jon Huenemann remarked, “They’re playing with
fire. . . . The sensitivities of this are obvious and we’re
right on the edge here.”
Despite the role of developed and developing country
governments, NGOs, large pharmaceutical companies,
and their generic competitors in crafting this agreement,
it was unclear how it would be implemented and whether
action would be swift enough to stem the HIV/AIDS epidemic
ravaging South Africa and many other countries.
The AIDS Epidemic and Potential
Treatment
In 2008, after over two decades of fighting the AIDS epidemic
and raising the public awareness, HIV/AIDS still
remained one of the leading causes of death in the world,
occupying the 6th position in WHO Top 10 Causes of
Death list. 3 According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), in 2008 there were approximately 33.4 million
people living with AIDS, with 2.7 million newly infected,
and 2 millions deaths (see Table 1). Since 1980, AIDS has
killed more than 25 million people. HIV is especially
deadly because it often remains dormant in an infected person
for years without showing symptoms and is transmitted
to others often without the knowledge of either person. HIV
leads to AIDS when the virus attacks the immune system
and cripples it, making the person vulnerable to diseases. 4
Th.
Access to Medicines: A Role for Our Universities
MedicinesAugust 17, 2010Universities Allied for Essential MedicinesPresentation for Universidade de SÃO PAULO -USP
Merck: Global Health and Access to MedicinesTony Sebastian
This is a HBR case study analysis of Merck, the pharmaceutical company. Detailed analysis of the issues are given in the case like CAGR framework, PESTAL, SWOT etc
Licensing for Access: Compulsory and
Humanitarian Licenses
Cristina de A. Possas
Conference FDUSP UAEM
The Right to Health: the Role of Universities
in the access to medicines
São Paulo, August 17, 2010
Intellectual Property Rights and Access to
Essential Medicines
Thomas Pogge
Professor of Political Science, Columbia University
Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Australian National University
Centre for the Study of Mind in Nature, University of Oslo
Indian pharmaceutical industry: Policies, achievements and challengesRajesh Kochhar
Indian pharmaceutical industry is a success story from a national as well as third-world perspective. India accounts for 10% of world production and ranks third in the world in terms of volume. In value terms the share is only 1.4% and the rank 14th.
his statistic underlines the important fact that India produces world-class generic drugs at a very low cost. Indian domestic pharma market, currently evaluated at $12 bn, is largely self-sufficient with patented drugs playing a minimal role.
R&D less innovative but increasingly costly
Manufacturing is less sustainable in the West - shift to developing
markets
Health care costs rising globally – pressure on prices/profits
Emergence of non-communicable diseases (NCD’s)
Demand for medicines is growing more rapidly in the emerging
economies than the industrialized economies
Push towards generics over patented medicines
Focus on access to quality healthcare in Africa
Improving manufacturing/quality standards in developing countries
Increasing political support for local manufacturing in Africa
Greater focus on Africa as a “Market Opportunity
Leadership qualities of Apj abdul kalam wings of fireRakesh Bhaskar
leadership qualities of kalam and birth and acheivements presidency and biography of APJ kalam leadership in action his educatonal life and scientist and wings of fire
pictorial representation of sub prime crisis. How sub prime crisis happened. Simple and easily understood way. Investment banking,motgages,how it backfired,snapshot of subprime crisis 2008,explanation of subprime crisis,.Why real estate sector lost its boom in US.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
The Art Pastor's Guide to Sabbath | Steve ThomasonSteve Thomason
What is the purpose of the Sabbath Law in the Torah. It is interesting to compare how the context of the law shifts from Exodus to Deuteronomy. Who gets to rest, and why?
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
The Indian economy is classified into different sectors to simplify the analysis and understanding of economic activities. For Class 10, it's essential to grasp the sectors of the Indian economy, understand their characteristics, and recognize their importance. This guide will provide detailed notes on the Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10, using specific long-tail keywords to enhance comprehension.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
We all have good and bad thoughts from time to time and situation to situation. We are bombarded daily with spiraling thoughts(both negative and positive) creating all-consuming feel , making us difficult to manage with associated suffering. Good thoughts are like our Mob Signal (Positive thought) amidst noise(negative thought) in the atmosphere. Negative thoughts like noise outweigh positive thoughts. These thoughts often create unwanted confusion, trouble, stress and frustration in our mind as well as chaos in our physical world. Negative thoughts are also known as “distorted thinking”.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
This is a presentation by Dada Robert in a Your Skill Boost masterclass organised by the Excellence Foundation for South Sudan (EFSS) on Saturday, the 25th and Sunday, the 26th of May 2024.
He discussed the concept of quality improvement, emphasizing its applicability to various aspects of life, including personal, project, and program improvements. He defined quality as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to achieve the best possible results and discussed the concept of the "gap" between what we know and what we do, and how this gap represents the areas we need to improve. He explained the scientific approach to quality improvement, which involves systematic performance analysis, testing and learning, and implementing change ideas. He also highlighted the importance of client focus and a team approach to quality improvement.
How to Create Map Views in the Odoo 17 ERPCeline George
The map views are useful for providing a geographical representation of data. They allow users to visualize and analyze the data in a more intuitive manner.
2. The World Trade Organization (WTO) and
intellectual property rights (IPR)
• In August of 2003 after heavy lobbying from organizations such as
Doctors Without Borders ,the United States pharmaceutical industry
dropped its opposition to relaxation of the intellectual property rights
(IPR) provisions under World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations to
make generic, low-cost antiviral drugs available to developing
countries like South Africa facing epidemics or other health
emergencies.
3. The AIDS Epidemic and Potential Treatment of AIDS
• In 2008, two decades of fighting the AIDS epidemic and raising the
public awareness, HIV/AIDS still remained one of the leading causes
of death in the word, occupying the 6th position on the Wold Health
Organization (WHO) top 10 causes of death list. Since 1980, AIDS has
killed more than 25 million people. HIV is especially deadly because it
often remains dormant in an infected person for years without
showing symptoms and is transmitted to others often without the
knowledge of either person. HIV lead to AIDS when the virus attacks
the immune system and cripples it, making the person vulnerable to
diseases.
4. Potential Treatment
• There is no cure or vaccination for AIDS. Public health experts place a
high priority on prevention.
• Drugs help combat AIDS by prolonging the lives of those infected and
by slowing the spread of the disease. These drugs significantly reduce
deaths in developed countries, however the treatment is very
expensive.
• Manufacturers hold patents for drugs.
• Limits competitions from generic products.
5. Expenses of Antiretroviral Drugs (ARV)
• In 2000-2001 a year's supply of a "cocktail" of ARV drugs used to fight
AIDS cost between $10,000 and $12,000 in developed countries,
putting it beyond the reach of those in most developing countries.
• Dr. James , president of Doctors Without Borders
• "The poor have no consumer power, so the market has failed them.
I'm tired of the logic that says: 'he who can't pay dies.'"
6. AIDS in Southern and Western Africa.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, approximately 22.4 million people are living
with AIDS. Of the 2 million AIDS deaths globally in 2003,
approximately three-quarters or 1.6 million were in sub-Saharan
Africa.
7. HIV Transmission
• In Southern Africa most HIV transmission is from sexual activity rather
than transfusion or drug needles.
• There are now large numbers of single migrant male communities in
southern Africa. Many of them serve in the mining industry. Which
puts them at higher risk for AIDS transmission with easy access to
alcohol and commercial sex workers.
8. The toll AIDS takes in Southern Africa
• There is a great stigma attached to AIDS in southern Africa.
• In 1998 a South African AIDS activist declared on television that she
was HIV-positive and was stoned to death for shaming her
community.
• HIV/AIDS has slashed the life expectancy in South Africa from 66 to
50.
9. Large Pharmaceutical companies and the U.S.
government.
• The U.S. government resisted calls to relax intellectual property laws
that were thought to limit the provision of low-cost AIDS treatments,
South African president Thabo Mbeki himself had been accused of
engaging in "denial" as he had disputed established wisdom regarding
the source of and treatment for AIDS. Meanwhile, South Africans
continued to die from the disease, and the South African economy
also suffered direct and indirect costs from the disease's ravaging
effects.
10. Intellectual Property Rights
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) grant investors rights for original
creations.
• The goal of IPR protection is to stimulate creativity and innovation,
and to provide incentives and funding for R&D.
• IPR , such as patents, prevent people from using inventors' creations
without permission.
11. Drug Pricing in Developing Countries
• In 1997, South Africa passed a law to permit compulsory licensing of essential drugs.
• Pharmaceutical companies sued the South African government in an attempt to delay
implementation of the law.
• The Clinton administration lobbied the South African government to reverse its decision.
• In December of 1999, President Bill Clinton told members of the WTO that the U.S.
government would show flexibility and allow countries to obtain cheaper drugs during
health emergencies on a case-by-case basis.
• In the Summer of 2000, at the 13th International AIDS Conference in Durban, South
Africa a german pharm. company offered to make its AIDS drug, Viramune, available for
free.
• Many other companies made similar offers.
• In spring of 2001, three U.S. companies announced they would sell HIV drugs to
developing countries at cost.
12. The Global Fund
• In April 2001 UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan proposed creation of
a global fund to combat AIDS. Noting that pharmaceutical companies
were beginning to accept that "generic medication can be produced
where it can save lives."
• Pressure Mounts
• June 2002, 2 weeks before the 14th International AIDS Conference in
Barcelona, the WTO council responsible for intellectual property
extended until 2016.
13. Drug prices have fallen...
• $1200/person/yr in developing countries
• *Estimated prices needed to fall as low as $30-40 /person/yr to reach the poorest
recipients.
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
• TRIPS attempted to bring conformity among different nations' protection of IPR.
• TRIPS covered five basic areas
• 1. Basic Principles
• 2. How to provide adequate protection.
• 3. Enforcement.
• 4. Dispute settlement.
• 5. Special transitional arrangement
14. Joint Efforts to Combat AIDS
• Companies agreed to invest further in research & development of
new HIV-related medicines adapted to resource-limited settings
16. 1) Do pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to distribute drugs
for free or at low cost in developing countries? What are the main
arguments for and against such an approach?
• Pharmaceutical companies are not always required to distribute drugs
for free or at a low cost in developing countries unless they are facing
epidemics or a health emergency.
• The treatment, R&D costs of developing the drug are so high that
giving them away for free or at low cost would essentially hurt the
manufacturer of the drug not allowing them enough money to
continue to produce it.
• With AIDS specifically, there is no known cure and all the drug would
be doing is slowing down someone’s death, maybe even allowing
them to potentially live longer, causing them to perhaps continue to
spread the disease.
17. • Some of the drug-free programs stated that they want to test what
the drug has on survival. However, some are worried about
corruption and diversion of the sample of drugs if it is free because
they may not get to the necessary people and perhaps they may try
to sell the drugs to people within the country to make money off of
them.
• If they are sold at low no-profit prices the company still has some
control over who is purchasing them as well as they are able to
recover some of their costs back as opposed to giving the drugs for
free where they will never receive anything for them.
18. 2) What are the principal arguments of pharmaceutical companies that
oppose making exceptions to IPR laws for developing countries? What are
the arguments by NGOs and others for relaxing IPR laws?
• They would lose contributions from sales of a drug faced with a
knockoff in a specific county. They feared a domino effect,
compulsory licensing spreading across developing countries and
sharply hurting profits in several markets. Also, prices in developed
countries may sink because of a gray market in generics or because of
pressure to cap prices as information on the significant price
differential between countries becomes widely available and
developed-country consumers start an outrage to receive the same
low prices
19. 3) What impact would you expect South Africa’s decision to levy duties on
drug imports from Western nations to have on the international
distribution of drugs to South Africa?
• There seems to be a clear relationship between tariffs and the access
to necessary medicines. By increasing a tariff by 1% reduces the
access to medicine and denies millions of people access to essential
medicine just because of tariffs. These taxes are usually imposed to
protect local manufacturers from imports and competition so by
South Africa doing this will probably stop some companies from even
trying to send drugs to the country. “They frustrate the competition,
reduce innovation, raise prices of goods to domestic consumers, and
provide no real long-term benefit to the nation”
20. 4) In June 2002, the WTO extended the transition period during which least-developed countries.
(LDCs) had to provide patent protection for pharmaceuticals. In your opinion, was this an appropriate
change in policy or a dangerous precedent? What could be some of the negative ramifications of this
resolution? What about the effects for other industries?
• I think overall this was a good decision, I feel that in today’s society money
and profit is taking precedent over people’s health. The LDCs need to have
a fair chance at survival and without having the technology and funding as
many other countries have it makes it nearly impossible for them ever to
get ahead. I think the focus needs to be on people’s health more so than
patents and profits. Some of the negative effects would be with some
many generics now being allowed to be produced it will take away sales
and imports from the bigger pharmaceutical companies that are currently
holding on to that patent. Even though the drug prices have decreased,
they are still not low enough for everyone. They estimated that the price
needs to fall to about $30 to $40 per person per year for the drugs to
actually reach the poorest parts of the countries, which are usually the
most affected.
21. 5) Given the initiatives announced by global development and aid organizations and
among pharmaceutical companies themselves, was it necessary to relax IPR rules in
order to ensure that adequate supplies of AIDS medications would be available for
distribution in the developing world?
• Soln:
• IPRs grant investors rights for original creations and to protect creativity
and innovation.
• It prevents people from using inventors’ creations without permission.
• The pharmaceutical companies view the relaxation of the IPR rules as a
negative impact on their company which is completely understandable
• However, there needs to be some type of line drawn when it comes to
company’s profiting and a person’s health (life or death).
• SO I think that it was somewhat necessary to relax some of the IPR rules.
22. 6) What role do MNCs have in providing funding or other assistance to
international organizations such as the Global Fund, UN, and WHO?
• By providing funding or other assistance to international
organizations they are allowing donations to help support the
development of new drugs and generics which will allow the LDCs to
access these at much cheaper rates.
• If everyone continues to help and make sacrifices the AIDS epidemic
can hopefully one day be under control.