HBR

• Poor nations fail to cash in on TRIPS pact on drugs: WHO
  New Delhi, May 23
  http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=91765
  
  The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern over the inability of many developing countries including India to take advantage of the fact that the TRIPS agreement does not bar price control of patented drugs.
  
  Even as the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and public health allows a great deal of flexibility in national patent systems to deal with health emergencies and other public health issues, countries namely India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia shied away of making full use of the flexibilities.
  
  “Even if the patented products are covered by licences granted to other domestic enterprises, the prices are bound to be high,” said WHO, in a recent review of patent legislations of these countries. During the patent protection period, prices tend to be exorbitant because the patentee has monopoly control over the market.
  
  According to the world body, patent laws in India suffer from several “weaknesses.” There are shortcomings in the scope of patentability and granting of compulsory licences to domestic enterprises besides pricing of patented products.
  
  Though the Doha Declaration possessed flexibilities, which the member countries could have exercised to protect public health, the Indian Patents Act 2002 (Second Amendment Act, 2002) was not formulated to benefit from this. According to WHO, chapter XVI on compulsory licences and licences of right should provide granting of voluntary licences by the patentee, who may not himself like to establish his own infrastructure in the country to promote his own product. Also, granting of compulsory licences due to abuse of patent rights by the patentee should be allowed. Abuse could arise because of inadequate working of the patent or inadequate imports by the patent holder of the patented product and the patent holder charging prices which are too high.