We believe everyone deserves the right to access the medicines they need to keep them alive and healthy. The poorest people around the world are often denied this right – why?
Because branded medicines are too expensive and access to affordable generic medicines is blocked. Our Trading with Lives campaign calls for developing countries to have access to affordable medicines. A country’s ability to pay should never be a barrier to its people’s right to health. Take action now!
What are generic medicines?
Usually ‘generic’ medicines are copies of branded medicines that are no longer protected by a patent. When a pharmaceutical company gets a patent on a medicine they have the sole right to brand, produce and sell it at a price they choose, which is often high enough to ensure large profit margins, ignoring developing countries’ ability to pay for the medicines. This exclusivity lasts the length of a patent, which currently stands at 20 years. Generic versions of branded, patented medicines cannot be produced for the length of this patent term (with the exception of the use of TRIPS flexibilities). Generics contain the same active ingredient as branded medicines and they have to go through the same quality control requirements demanded of the original product.
Why are generic medicines needed?
Generic medicines are needed because branded medicines under patent are very expensive, costing many times more than their generic counterparts. For example, first generation HIV drugs cost around US$10,000 per patient per year under patent. Generic HIV drugs cost as little as US$87 per patient per year today. This makes a huge difference, as a third of the world’s population currently lack access to the medicines they need, rising to 50% in parts of Asia and Africa. In developing countries, medicines account for 60-90% of household expenditure on health. So it’s vital that developing countries have access to medicines they can afford so their people do not die needlessly. Once purchased, medicines should be distributed to the poorest members of society for free. Access to significantly cheaper generic medicines and their free distribution to the poorest will save many lives around the world.
Why are generic medicines hard to access?
Access to affordable generic medicines is vital for the survival of the poorest people around the world, yet these life-saving medicines are not always available. Why?
- Trade agreements
Because trade agreements like the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) block poor countries from accessing cheaper generic medicines. Find out more about how trade agreements block access to affordable medicines, here.
Find out more about Intellectual property rights and health
We are calling for:
- Rich countries and pharmaceutical companies must not pursue a profit-driven agenda within trade agreements by actively seeking to block access to affordable generic medicines to protect their own interests. Profits must not be prioritised over the lives of the poorest people around the world.
- Developing countries need to demonstrate the political will to acquire affordable medicines using the TRIPS flexibilities and if acquired, distribute affordable generic medicines to the poorest for free.
- At the international level, every effort should be made to find consensus on a narrower definition of ‘counterfeit’, as the continuing use of overly broad definitions will only serve to endanger the lives of the poorest by blocking access to affordable medicines.
- Access to essential medicines may not fall victim to investor-state arbitration. Intellectual property should be removed from bilateral investment treaties as falling under the definition of investment; at the very least there must be exceptions for public health. Most importantly democracy must be reinstalled by removing the investor-to-state arbitration mechanism from investment chapters.
Last modified: 25/11/2011
