[Ip-health] BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest: Canada to be first G-7 country to allow export of generic HIV/AIDS drugs

[Richard Elliott]

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>BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 7, Number 32    1 October, 2003
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<snip>
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>In Brief
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>
>CANADA TO BE FIRST G-7 COUNTRY TO ALLOW EXPORT OF GENERIC HIV/AIDS DRUGS
>
>Responding to a call by former Canadian politician Stephen Lewis --
>currently the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS -- the Canadian government
>announced on 26 September that it would move to amend patent laws to
>allow generic pharmaceutical companies to produce and export certain
>patent-protected drugs. The call by Lewis came during his address at
>the 13th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted
>Infections in Africa (ICASA), which ran from 21-26 September in
>Nairobi, Kenya. The possibility of enacting such an amendment, the fine
>print of which is still being considered by the Canadian government,
>was opened up by a 30 August agreement at the WTO on the matter (see
>BRIDGES Weekly, 4 September 2003,
>http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/03-09-04/wtoinbrief.htm#1). This agreement,
>flowing out of a deal cut at the
>2001 Ministerial Conference in Doha, spelled out the conditions under
>which countries without pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity can
>import generic versions of drugs still under patent. Noting the
>inherent flaws of the compromise agreement, Richard Elliot, Director of
>Policy & Research for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, noted
>that "the deal could, if robustly implemented with a minimum of
>interference, help countries circumvent patent restrictions and import
>generic versions of patented medicines if they cannot manufacture them
>within their own borders".
>
>For more information on the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS, visit
>http://stephenlewisfoundation.org/index.html
>
>For more details on the ICASA meeting, visit
>http://www.icasanairobi2003.org/
>
>"Ottawa heeds call on AIDS," GLOBE AND MAIL, 26 September 2003; "Canada
>Can Carry Much More" GLOBE AND MAIL, 23 September 2003.
>
>BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest=A9 is published by the
>International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
>(ICTSD), http://www.ictsd.org.
>Excerpts from BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest=A9 may be used
>in other publications  with appropriate citation. Comments
>and suggestions are welcomed and should be directed to the
>Editor or the Director.


Richard Elliott
Director, Policy & Research / Directeur, politiques et recherche
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network / R=E9seau juridique canadien VIH/sida
890 Yonge Street, Suite 700, Toronto, Canada M4W 3P4
Tel : +1 (416) 595-1666 Fax +1 (416) 595-0094
E-mail: relliott@aidslaw.ca Web: www.aidslaw.ca

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is a partner organisation of the
AIDS Law Project of South Africa, and a non-governmental organization in
Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the
United Nations. //
Le R=E9seau juridique canadien VIH/sida est un organisme partenaire du AIDS
Law Project
de l'Afrique du Sud et ONG dot=E9 de statut consultatif sp=E9cial aupr=E8s =
du
Conseil =E9conomique
et social des Nations Unies.

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