Doha | Tuesday
WTO ministers meeting here reached a preliminary deal on access to generic medicines in developing countries, according to a copy of a draft text received on Tuesday.
The text states that a World Trade Organisation agreement on protecting patented pharmaceuticals ”does not and should not” prevent countries taking measures to protect public health.
The draft must still be approved at a plenary session scheduled at 14:00 (1100 GMT) of trade ministers and delegates who are then expected to continue final negotiations on a range of issues until midnight.
If they agree on the documents, they will serve as a roadmap for fresh trade talks.
The WTO accord, known as Trips — trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights — has been one of the toughest issues on the agenda at the five-day session in the Qatari capital.
Ministers have been locked in hard bargaining since Friday to find consensus on the contents and time frame of a new round of talks on further reductions in trade barriers.
Developing countries, especially India and Brazil, sought assurances they would not be prevented by the Trips agreement — which offers patent protection to big pharmaceutical companies — from using cheaper, generic medicines to treat a health pandemic such as Aids.
They were opposed by Switzerland and the United States, who argued the current accord was flexible enough to not stand in the way of efforts by poor countries to respond to crises such as Aids.
They also warned that any weakening in the accord would discourage companies from investing in research and development.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Lafer described the draft declaration as an important step in responding to criticism levelled at the Geneva-based WTO over the issue.
”The declaration doesn’t change the Trips agreement at all, but provides a new view of it which is public health-friendly,” he said.
The draft states that WTO members ”agree that the Trips agreement does not and should not prevent members from taking measures to protect public health.”
”Accordingly, while reiterating our commitment to the Trips agreement, we affirm that the agreement can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO members’ right to protect public health and, in particular to promote access to medicines for all.” – Sapa-AFP
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