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Article: Pill paupers; Drugs and developing countries.(Cheaper drugs for poor countries)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 21, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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How to get cheaper drugs for poor countries
IT HAS been another week of long arguments at the World Trade Organisation over how to implement last year's Doha agreement on getting cheaper drugs for poor countries. The main dispute has been over how far to extend compulsory licensing, a tool that confers the right to manufacture patented drugs without the patent-holder's consent. Because America is holding out for a narrow ambit for any new provisions on compulsory licensing, restricting them to drugs for such diseases as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, it looks unlikely that a deal will be struck by the original target date of the end of this year. Yet even if ...