TACD recommendations on Pharmacueticals

[James Love <love@cptech.org>]

These are the April 24, 1999 recommendations of the Trans
Atlantic Consumer Dialogue, from a meeting just concluded
in Brussels.  There were other recommendations that are still
before the group, but which did not reach consensus yet.
  
  Jamie


http://www.tacd.org/meeting1/dialogue.html

Pharmaceuticals

The TACD recommends that the governments of the US and the EU should
consider the following:

   1.Regarding World Health Assembly and the World Trade Organization
     Require that a country engaged in WTO dispute resolution
proceedings be permitted to request a report from the WHO on the public
health aspects of the policies that are subject to review by the WTO. 

   2.Regarding Patents and Exemptions for Exports
     Agree that a country may provide exemptions to patent rights to
companies who are exporting the product to another country where patent
rights have expired or where patent rights have been licensed under
compulsory licensing and the legitimate interests of the patent owner
has been protected under Article 31 of the WTO TRIPS agreement. 

   3.Regarding Parallel Imports of Pharmaceuticals
     Not bring trade sanctions against poor countries who seek to use
parallel imports to obtain cheaper access to pharmaceuticals. 

   4.Regarding developing countries and medical patents
     Not use trade pressures against developing countries over access to
essential medicines if those countries have satisfied WTO/TRIPS
requirements for the protection of patents. Developing counties should
not be prevented from using compulsory licensing to expand access to
medicines, if the compulsory licenses are issued in compliance with
Article 31 of the TRIPS agreement. 

   5.Regarding compulsory licensing
     Agree that governments, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) should consult  with the
academic community, consumer groups and a wide range of industry groups
to determine where compulsory licensing of medical technologies is
needed to overcome market failures, such as those that are related to
complex inventions, follow on inventions, or for providing access to
inventions on reasonable terms. 


-- 
James Love, Director, Consumer Project on Technology
I can be reached at love@cptech.org, by telephone 202.387.8030,
by fax at 202.234.5176. CPT web page is http://www.cptech.org