WTO Director-General Calls Upon Poor Nations to Enact Compulsory Licensing for Critical Patented Drugs
12 Oct 2006
Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), stated at the annual meeting of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Associations that poor nations should work within the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to warrant compulsory licenses on patented pharmaceuticals for severe diseases that otherwise are of high cost to poor people.
At the Federation's meeting, on October 11, Lamy pointed out that the WTO has "not received a single notification of a developing country issuing a compulsory licence." He speculated that the simple act of initiating processes at the national level for major pharmaceutical companies to engage in compulsory licensing with generic manufacturers might be sufficient to encourage brand-name producers to slash the costs of their medicines.
In stark contrast, the pharmaceutical industry generally has countered that it must be allowed to retain patents on its products, arguing that "there is no incentive for generic drug manufacturers" who obtain compulsory licenses to produce certain pharmaceuticals.
Source: Jack, A. WTO head flags trade rules as way to reduce drug costs. Financial Times (London); USA Edition 2. October 12, 2006. P.8.
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