Patent Rights
latest news & developments
He would ransom the pills for something more precious than profit: His wife’s life
When a few months of treatment costs as much as a house, some patients are taking their lives and the law into their own hands to survive.
Hundreds of protestors descend on DTI’s Pretoria offices demanding access to affordable medicines
Think paying your medical aid premiums every month ensures you access to the drugs you need when you get sick? Think again.
Lift the veil on drug pricing and trade agreements, the UN urges companies and states
New United Nations report calls for drug companies to spill closely held secrets and patent reforms.
Bhekisisa’s stories changing lives: ‘People were finally helping me’
A TB patient finally gets a disability grant and a woman has free access to the world’s most expensive drug.
Activists fear a pharmaceutical plot is at play
The department of trade and industry has yet to finalise patent reforms, raising questions that cheaper medication could be blocked intentionally.
New drug policy is patently high risk
There is widespread support for drastic change to patent laws when it comes to pharmaceuticals, but the results could be disastrous.
Big pharma companies seek higher profits by cleaning out their medicine chests
Global pharma companies are looking to sell off their mature drugs, which are often sold in emerging markets where governments demand low prices.
Patients before patents, demand health activists
The intellectual property policy, which will allow access to cheaper drugs, has yet to be finalised while patients are dying, say health activists.
Brazil’s sick of patent exploitation
The country is fighting the intellectual property laws that hiked up the cost of its HIV programme.
Generic cancer drug – access not guaranteed
A generic version of a key cancer drug is now available in South Africa, but at a significantly higher cost than it is available internationally.
India makes breakthrough drug patent ruling against Novartis
India’s Supreme Court has rejected a patent bid by Novartis in a ruling that will protect access to generics and save lives in developing countries.
Samsung aims to ban iPhone 5 sales, say reports
Reports say Samsung will file lawsuits to try to block the sale of Apple’s iPhone 5 as part of its global legal tussle with the US technology giant.