Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Wed, 14 Nov 2001
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WTO Talks Extended; Unclear Whether Text on Drugs, Patents Will Stand
if Talks Collapse
A World Trade Organization ministerial working group meeting in Doha,
Qatar, has "ignor[ed]" its Nov. 13 deadline to continue negotiations
on a draft declaration, although it is not clear whether a text re-
lating to access to medicines will stand if the talks collapse, the
AP/Nando Times reports (Koppel, AP/Nando Times, 11/13). WTO ministers
had crafted a text that would allow WTO member nations to use the
flexibility of the Trade-Related Aspects of International Property
Rights (TRIPS) agreement to ensure access to medicines. The draft
"assures" developing countries that patent rules would not "stand in
the way" of nations that wish to produce or import generic drugs to
combat "epidemic health crises like AIDS and malaria." In addition,
the draft also gives the poorest countries a 10-year delay on the im-
plementation of patent laws on medicines and allows all countries the
right to decide under what circumstances they can override the pat-
ents of pharmaceutical companies during public health crises. How-
ever, the text refers the issue of parallel importation, in which
countries can import generic versions of patented drugs, to a commit-
tee (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/13). The text addressing phar-
maceuticals and patents will not be formally approved until WTO min-
isters adopt a wider agreement on an agenda for a new round of trade
talks (Dow Jones International News, 11/13). Ministers from all 142
WTO member nations must approve this agreement for it to pass (Geit-
ner, Associated Press, 11/13). To work out several contentious issues
in the larger agreement, ministers extended the conference for an ex-
tra day. However, it is not clear whether the text on drugs and pat-
ents "would stand" if the larger agreement is not reached (AP/Nando
Times, 11/13).
Drug Industry Reaction
The Wall Street Journal today profiles the pharmaceutical industry's
mixed reaction to the text proposed by the ministers. Nancy Pekarek,
a spokesperson for drug maker GlaxoSmithKline, said, "The language
(of the declaration) maintains the integrity of [WTO patent protec-
tions]." Brian Ager, director general of the European Federation of
the Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, added, "It's still
very much a political declaration" and not a change to WTO rules.
However, the Journal reports that Pharmaceutical Research and Manu-
facturers of America President Alan Holmer has been "fretful" over
the text and had sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert
Zoellick "warn[ing] against any compromise that might weaken drug
patents." Lobbyists for the pharmaceutical industry say that the
draft's "vague" language could lead some countries "to flout patents"
or "get cheap generics where they can." U.S. trade representatives,
however, say that the text does not "weake[n]" WTO legal protections
for pharmaceutical patents (Winestock/Cooper, Wall Street Journal,
11/14).
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