Overriding drug and medical technology patents for pandemic recovery: a legitimate move for high-income countries, too

High-income countries that face potential legal hurdles (in world trade law and/or in the regulation of test data and market exclusivity) to effectively use compulsory licensing in the COVID-19 pandemic should consider taking measures now. [...]intellectual property rights will be a significant dete...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ global health 2021-04, Vol.6 (4), p.e005518
Main Authors: Perehudoff, Katrina, 't Hoen, Ellen, Boulet, Pascale
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Agreements
AIDS
Antiviral drugs
Biomedical Technology
Commentary
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - prevention & control
Developed Countries
Global health
Health administration
health policy
Hepatitis
High income
Humans
Intellectual property
Inventors
Law
Licenses
Licensing
Low income groups
Medical technology
Negotiations
Pandemics
Patents as Topic
Patients
Prices
Property rights
R&D
Recovery (Medical)
Research & development
Technology, Pharmaceutical
vaccines
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Summary:High-income countries that face potential legal hurdles (in world trade law and/or in the regulation of test data and market exclusivity) to effectively use compulsory licensing in the COVID-19 pandemic should consider taking measures now. [...]intellectual property rights will be a significant determinant of global access to COVID-19 medicines. [...]in these countries, prices are high and supplies are limited by Gilead’s exclusive patent rights and its finite capacity to manufacture the medicine. [...]in 2017 the US state of Louisiana explored its options to leverage a government use provision in state law to lower the price of the expensive hepatitis C treatments sofosbuvir and ledipasvir/sofosbuvir.10 Although the government use provision was not invoked in the end, it was an effective negotiation strategy with the pharmaceutical manufacturer that eventually led to a more affordable ‘netflix’ (or subscription-based payment) model for buying these hepatitis C drugs.11 Recently, government use licensing in the UK (called ‘Crown use’) has garnered much political and public attention following the rationing of lifesaving medicines due to their escalating prices.
ISSN:2059-7908
2059-7908
DOI:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005518