The year of 2015 marked the 20th anniversary of the Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). TRIPS came into being and faced controversies since its early years. The impact of TRIPS on access to medicines and innovation has triggered international activism and resistance, especially from developing countries. Essentially, medicines that were once excluded from patent protection in many countries are now subject to patenting as required by TRIPS. Continue reading “Argue with an Academic: Yuan Qiong Hu on Access to Medication”
Tag: Pharmaceuticals
Access to Medication – The Dimensions of the Problem
On November 10th The Kings Think Tank Global Health Policy Centre hosted a public event discussing current issues of drug development, medication distribution and tiered pricing, in particular its crippling effect on developing countries’ healthcare systems. Probing questions were asked regarding who is ultimately responsible for delivering solutions; big pharmaceutical corporations, governments or international policy makers? Three panelists, each with a different expertise and approach spoke on these issues; Continue reading “Access to Medication – The Dimensions of the Problem”