It is generally recognised that public health problems in the developing world are dire and that the rest of the world has a moral commitment to provide assistance. Yet many of the world's poor are unable to access essential pharmaceuticals simply because products that are under patent are too expensive and cheaper generics are not available. One of the proposed solutions to this problem is to allow domestic manufacture of generic products in response to health crises. However, this solution will provide no assistance in countries that lack the capacity to manufacture pharmaceuticals. This article discusses the extensive international negotiations occurring during the last couple of years that seek to provide an appropriate balance between access rights and patent rights.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Law and Legal Studies
Research Group:	Public law
Research Field:	Public law not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Law, Politics and Community Services
Objective Group:	Justice and the law
Objective Field:	Justice and the law not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Nicol, D (Professor Dianne Nicol)
ID Code:	27081
Year Published:	2003
Deposited By:	Law
Deposited On:	2003-08-01
Last Modified:	2007-08-14
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