Patent lather

Once again, patent protection of pharmaceuticals is being blamed as one of the main reasons why developing countries have inadequate access to products to diagnose, treat and prevent the diseases that affect them most. So concludes a report unveiled last week by the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health, established by Lee Jong-Wook, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

While recognizing that governments in developing countries need to invest in healthcare infrastructure, the commission is putting much of the responsibility on the pharma industry and its approach to patenting and pricing. Thus, several of the report's recommendations advocate reducing or eliminating patent protection in developing countries, either through voluntary acts on the part of drug companies, or through more vigorous pursuit of compulsory licensing power by governments (see "Recommendations to WHO"). ...