Dose of reality on drug patents


DEBATES on how to improve healthcare in developing countries often start from the same premise – patents can potentially raise drug prices so they should be abolished for better public health.

In the early 2000s, this argument drove the campaign against patents on HIV drugs in South Africa. This week, it is motivating campaigners against the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in Asia, a proposed Free Trade Agreement among 16 Asian countries that may impose new intellectual requirements.

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