WTO unable to inscribe generic drugs deal in stone
AFP, Geneva
World Trade Organization members were unable to make permanent a 2003 agreement on access to generic drugs for poor countries, although it was still regarded as valid on a temporary basis, a WTO official said Thursday. The global trade body missed a deadline for amending the accord which currently gives only a temporary waiver to intellectual property rights. Developing countries argued that the 2003 accord was too restrictive, which might explain why no country has yet used it to obtain medicines. The African Union described the waiver as an interim solution that "can be terminated at any time" and argued that the waiver "can pose problems and obstacles to the realization of the goal of access to affordable medicines for all". The compromise reached in late August 2003 tried to balance public health needs and the interests of the pharmaceutical industry. Under the WTO agreement, poor countries could import cheaper generic copies of patented medicines under a so-called compulsory licensing system if they do not have the capacity to manufacture the drugs themselves.
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