TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jun15/13)
17 June 2015
Third World Network
Strong support for LDC pharmaceuticals exemption request
Published in SUNS #8041 dated 15 June 2015
Geneva, 12 Jun (Kanaga Raja) -- A large majority of Members, mainly
developing countries, have voiced strong support at the meeting of
the TRIPS Council (9-10 June) for the request by the Least Developed
Countries (LDCs) for an extension of the transitional period with
regard to the intellectual property protection of pharmaceutical products,
which is set to expire on 1 January 2016.
The meeting also saw differences of view among members on whether
non-violation complaints should be applicable under the TRIPS Agreement,
with the US and Switzerland pushing to end the moratorium to enable
them to raise so-called "non-violation" disputes under TRIPS
and challenge developing countries like India not allowing so-called
"evergreening" of existing patents on pharmaceuticals.
A group of developing countries have presented a proposal (see below),
asking the TRIPS Council to recommend that the Nairobi Ministerial
Conference decide that such non-violation or situation complaints
are inapplicable to disputes under TRIPS. (See below).
On the LDC issue, Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDCs, had introduced
the LDC request under "other business" at a meeting of the
TRIPS Council on 24 February, and the Council at that time had held
a brief discussion on it.
At that February meeting, Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDCs, had submitted
a duly-motivated request for an extension of the transitional period
"for as long as the WTO Member remains a least developed country."
The request for the extension of the transitional period also covers
test data protection under Article 30.3 of the TRIPS Agreement, as
well as seeking exemption from the "mailbox" (Article 70.8)
and exclusive marketing rights
(Article 70.9) provisions of the TRIPS Agreement (see SUNS #7970 dated
26 February 2015).
The LDC request had received wide support from health experts and
civil society organisations. The request has also received support
from UN agencies such as UNITAID, the UNDP and UNAIDS as well as members
of the European Parliament and generic drug suppliers such as the
IDA Foundation, a non-profit provider of generic drugs to low- and
middle-income countries. (See SUNS #8027 dated 26 May 2015.)
The item on the request for an extension of the transitional period
under Article 66.1 for Least Developed Country members with respect
to pharmaceutical products and for waivers from the obligation of
Articles 70.8 and 70.9 was added to the agenda of the TRIPS Council
meeting at the request of Bangladesh on behalf of the LDCs.
At the TRIPS Council meeting itself, Uganda, the focal point for the
LDC Group on this issue, took the floor and provided a detailed explanation
of the LDC request and the need for the exemption.
According to one participant who attended the meeting, most of the
developing countries supported the LDC request, while Norway, a developed
country, also voiced support for the request. On the other hand, other
countries said that they are still looking at the issue, and that
they need more clarity with regard to the general waiver and the specific
waiver, said the trade source.
According to other informed trade sources, the LDC request received
support from South Africa, Nepal, Lesotho (on behalf of the African
Group), Myanmar, Cambodia, Barbados (on behalf of the African, Caribbean
and Pacific group of countries), Tanzania, India, Mali, Cuba, Brazil,
Yemen, Togo, Argentina, Sierra Leone, China, Haiti, Democratic Republic
of Congo, Uruguay, Rwanda, Chile, the Holy See and the World Health
Organisation (WHO), as well as Norway.
The developed countries said that they are in the process of studying
the LDC request. The European Union called for a more holistic approach,
saying that some issues also need to be further clarified, such as
the need for a sector-specific extension when there was already a
general extension, said these sources.
The TRIPS Council Chair was requested to hold consultations on this
matter, with the next Council meeting scheduled to take place in October.
PRESENTATION OF THE LDC REQUEST
In its presentation on the extension of the decision on pharmaceutical
products at the TRIPS Council, the LDC Group cited a market access
study undertaken by the WTO in 2014, which said that the LDCs' share
in world merchandise trade in 2013 was at 1.24%, with a staggering
deficit of US$60.6 billion. Its participation in world services exports
was a paltry 0.68%.
According to the LDC Group, investment going to LDCs is not any different.
It cited the 2013 UNCTAD Investment Report, which had found that inflows
to the LDCs represented only 1.9% of global inflows.
According to the 2013 UNIDO Report, the share of manufacturing value
added for LDCs actually declined from 2% in 1992 to 1% in 2012.
Many LDCs are now at a critical stage of development whereby population
growth is high, and the socio-economic challenges are massive, said
the LDCs, noting that 400 million of its people, i. e, 46% of the
LDC population, live below the poverty line (USD1.25 a day). They
disproportionately suffer health-risks associated with poverty such
as malnutrition, unsafe water and poor sanitation.
The LDC Group said that its request is premised on Article 66.1 of
the TRIPS Agreement, which states: "In view of the special needs
and requirements of least-developed country Members, their economic,
financial and administrative constraints, and their need for flexibility
to create a viable technological base, such Members shall not be required
to apply the provisions of this Agreement, other than Articles 3,
4 and 5, for a period of 10 years from the date of application as
defined under paragraph 1 of Article 65. The Council for TRIPS shall,
upon duly motivated request by a least-developed country Member, accord
extensions of this period."
As the LDCs have highlighted in their request, access to affordable
pharmaceutical products is a prerequisite, to deal with the numerous
public health challenges facing LDCs. LDCs are home to some of the
world's most vulnerable people and bear considerable health burdens.
They face growing burdens of neglected, infectious, and chronic non-infectious
diseases. Because of market failure in the patent-based innovation
system, diseases that mainly affect poor people in lower-income countries
- so-called neglected diseases, including Ebola - still do not have
many treatment options.
In 2011, some 9.7 million of the 34 million people living with HIV
worldwide, lived in LDCs, and 4.6 million were eligible for antiretroviral
(ARV) treatment in accordance with the 2010 World Health Organization
HIV treatment guidelines. However, only 2.5 million were receiving
it.
LDCs also bear increasing health burdens of Non-Communicable Diseases
(NCDs) than in higher income countries. According to a WHO Status
Report of 2010, on non-communicable diseases, in the African Region,
a region with many LDCs, the prevalence of NCDs is rising rapidly
and is projected to cause almost three-quarters as many deaths as
communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional diseases by 2020,
and to exceed them as the most common causes of death by 2030.
In the specific case of cancer, data from low-income countries suggests
that cancer incidence is expected to rise by 82% from 2008 to 2030,
whereas in high-income countries, incidence is expected to rise at
a much lower rate of 40%, in part due to widespread access to vaccines
and medicines.
The LDC Group said that upon submission of its request, it had engaged
its partners in bilateral consultations, both developed and developing.
The objective was to understand their concerns with the view to explaining
the LDC request.
The LDC Group went on to address four of the issues that were raised,
which seemed common to almost all the meetings that the Group had:
(i) What is the relationship between the 2013 General transition period
and the 2002 pharmaceutical decision; (ii) Whether or not, LDCs had
utilized the pharmaceutical transition period afforded by Paragraph
7 of the Doha Declaration and as adopted by the TRIPS Council in 2002;
(iii) the rationale behind the request for waivers from Articles 70.8
and 70.9; and (iv) the question of duration.
On the general transition period vis-a-vis the 2002 pharmaceutical
decision, the LDC Group said that it is important to stress that the
negotiations and the decision of the 2013 general transition period,
did not give any special consideration to the matter of pharmaceutical
products.
A specific decision on pharmaceutical products is critical to address
the public health needs of LDCs. Unlike the 2013 extension, which
is general, the 2002 pharmaceutical extension specifically mentions
that "with respect to pharmaceutical products", LDCs do
not have to "IMPLEMENT OR TO APPLY" patents or test data
protection or "TO ENFORCE" such "rights".
The specificity and clarity of Paragraph 7 of the Doha mechanism and
the 2002 pharmaceutical decision has provided LDC governments, donors
and suppliers, the certainty to confidently supply and procure affordable
generic medicines. Thus, it is without a doubt that a specific pharmaceutical
decision is important to enable procurement of affordable generic
medicines.
What the LDC Group is requesting of the TRIPS Council is merely a
continuation of the Para 7 understanding in Doha. The 2013 decision
does not preclude the need for a specific extension addressing the
issue of pharmaceutical products.
On whether the 2002 specific pharmaceutical transition period has
been valuable to LDCs, the LDC Group noted that the 2002 TRIPS Council
Decision has been used extensively by LDCs and has been invaluable
in assisting LDCs to access affordable pharmaceutical products. According
to available information, following the adoption of the 2001 Doha
Declaration, more than 20 LDCs have relied on Paragraph 7 of the Doha
Declaration and the 2002 pharmaceutical decision, for the importation
of generic medicines.
Several LDCs such as Sierra Leone, Djibouti and Zambia relied on the
2002 pharmaceutical decision and issued declarations with regard to
non-enforcement of patents for certain medicines to facilitate importation,
and to speed up the supply of the medicines. In addition, inspired
by the 2002 pharmaceutical decision and with the aim to improve their
health situation, several LDCs have excluded pharmaceutical products
from the scope of patenting, for example, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
According to the LDCs, it serves to show that Paragraph 7 of the Doha
Declaration and the 2002 pharmaceutical decision have been effective
and successful in promoting access to medicines and saving lives in
LDCs. Civil society organizations from around the world have in their
letter dated 5 June to WTO Members referred to the Paragraph 7 mechanism
as "one of the most successful provisions of the Doha Declaration
on TRIPS and Public Health".
On the waiver from exclusive marketing rights (EMRs) obligations under
Article 70.9, the Group said that EMRs confer patent-like rights and
is another form of monopoly. If LDCs are bound to grant EMRs, the
value of a pharmaceutical transition period would be very limited,
since access to medicines and other pharmaceutical products could
be effectively blocked for at least five years.
According to the LDCs, the transition period would be redundant if
its basic objective of enabling access to affordable generic medicines
is curtailed. Therefore, following the 2002 pharmaceutical transition
period, the WTO General Council in 2002 granted a waiver from obligations
to grant Exclusive Marketing Rights.
If this obligation had not been waived, LDCs would have been required
to recognize monopolies of patent applicants for pharmaceutical products
for five years, delaying the introduction of generic medicines and
thus limiting access to affordable medicines. There is need to renew
this waiver along with the pharmaceutical transition period.
On the waiver from mailbox obligations under Article 70.8, the LDC
Group said that the mailbox obligation requires LDCs not recognizing
pharmaceutical patents at the time of entry into force of the WTO
Agreement to create a system for receiving such patent applications
to be examined at the end of the transition period.
The LDCs called for the mailbox obligation to be waived for the following
reasons: The requirement to install patent filing systems, implies
considerable financial and administrative efforts that will place
additional burdens on vulnerable LDCs. Further, requiring LDCs to
install mailbox when they don't even have to grant any patents (under
the General extension), does not make sense. The mailbox obligation
may also have a chilling effect on generic producers, who may be deterred
from investing in generic production of pharmaceuticals, which could
in future be patented.
On the issue of duration, the LDC Group said that it would be unconscionable
for WTO Members to grant LDCs - the most vulnerable segment of countries
- a time-limited transition period, requiring them to repeatedly seek
extensions. A time-limited transition period creates an uncertain
environment for the producers of affordable medicines, procurement
agencies, donors as well as LDC governments that rely on the specific
pharmaceutical transition period to produce and import affordable
medicines.
This in turn jeopardizes the health situation of the people and communities
within LDCs, with especially adverse consequences for the scaling
up of HIV/AIDS treatment. LDCs cannot deal with increasing communicable
and non-communicable disease burden without the assurance of continuous
availability of generic medicines as long as they remain LDCs.
By granting a renewable transition period, Article 66.1 recognizes
that for as long as a country remains an LDC, it will face various
constraints, and will need an exemption from TRIPS obligations. Previously,
a time-limited duration was given, and yet during this period, the
socio-economic situation in LDCs has worsened and the health needs
remain even greater.
As evidenced by their continuing LDC status, the LDCs still face unrelenting
development and capacity challenges.
To address these pressing public health needs, to secure the ability
to progressively realize the right to health, and to ensure their
continuing right of access to more affordable medicines of assured
quality, the LDCs called upon the Council to grant the extension of
the transitional period under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement
for Least Developed Countries with respect to Pharmaceutical Products,
and for waivers from the obligation of Articles 70.8 and 70.9 for
as long as the member is an LDC.
In its statement under this agenda item, India reiterated its support
for the proposal of the LDCs contained in document IP/C/W/605 and
requested all members to support the LDC proposal without any conditionalities.
In 2001, recognizing the special circumstances of LDCs, WTO members
granted LDCs a specific exemption for pharmaceutical products in paragraph
7 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, which was later
adopted as a TRIPS Council Decision contained in document IP/C/25
dated 27th June 2002.
This decision exempted LDCs from having to implement the provisions
of the TRIPS Agreement relating to the protection of pharmaceutical
patents and clinical data until 1 January 2016 in order to enable
their access to low-cost generic medicines given the high prevalence
of both communicable and non-communicable diseases in LDCs, like HIV/AIDS,
malaria, cancer etc. The General Council also granted a waiver (WT/L/478
dated 12 July 2002) to LDCs from its obligations under 70.9 of the
TRIPS agreement to grant exclusive marketing rights (EMRs).
According to India, the 2002 TRIPS Council decision (WT/C/25) supplemented
by the General Council waiver (WT/L/478) has facilitated access to
affordable medicines in LDCs. However, LDCs continue to bear high
burdens of infectious and non-infectious diseases and face numerous
challenges in confronting disease and illness. In June 2013, WTO members
agreed to extend the transition period for LDCs to implement the overall
TRIPS agreement until July 2021.
India reiterated Article 66.1 of the TRIPS which states "the
Council for TRIPS shall, upon duly motivated request by a least developed
country Member, accord extensions of this period." It said that
it is of the view that the language used in Article 66.1 is mandatory
in nature, in that it does not give the TRIPS Council any discretion
to deny a request for extension of the transition period or to impose
any further conditions on LDCs.
India noted that since July 2002, the two transition periods - one
general and one specific to pharmaceutical products - are in force.
It was of the view that a specific decision on pharmaceutical product
transition period is absolutely critical to provide suppliers, procurers
and donors of affordable medicines in LDCs the clarity and certainty
to manufacture, export and import generic medicines. In addition,
the LDC request for waivers from Articles 70.8 (mailbox obligation)
and 70.9 (exclusive marketing rights) are fully warranted as these
obligations create further obstacles to access to affordable pharmaceutical
products to LDCs.
Importantly, said India, according to the June 2013 decision, the
general extension was "without prejudice to the Council Decision
of 2002" on the extension of the LDC transition period for "certain
obligations with respect to pharmaceutical products" that expires
in 2016 and to the right of LDCs to seek further extensions of the
period provided for in Para 1 of Article 66 of the TRIPS Agreement.
In its statement, Nepal said that the extension of the transitional
period for LDCs with respect to pharmaceutical products under article
66.1 is a very important issue for LDCs. "As we all know that
still significant portion of the population in LDCs lives below the
poverty line without having access to safe drinking water, nutritious
food and primary health care facilities, making them highly vulnerable
to many communicable and non-communicable diseases."
In addition, due to low income, these poor people cannot afford the
high prices for medicines, including life saving drugs, which are
under patent and are normally sold at high prices in the international
market. Access to life saving generic medicines and other pharmaceutical
products at an affordable price is a great challenge for many LDCs,
but an essential component of the right to health and ensuring health
services to poor and vulnerable communities.
Available data and survey reports prepared by different international
organizations reveal that LDCs bear increasing health burdens of both
infectious and non-infectious diseases and they have to increasingly
confront several health risks. Indeed, LDCs are disproportionately
exposed to several health risks associated with poverty, malnutrition,
unawareness and poor sanitation.
According to Nepal, the specific pharmaceutical extension has been
used extensively and successfully by many LDCs including Nepal. Several
LDCs have authorized the importation of generic antiretroviral (ARVs)
medicines to treat HIV/AIDS and other diseases relying on this decision.
Considering the special needs and circumstances of LDCs, it urged
members to sympathetically consider and grant the LDC request to tie
up the extension of the pharmaceutical transition period to the point
of LDC graduation. This is very much in line with Article 66.1 of
the TRIPS Agreement.
Nepal said that the LDC Group request before the WTO TRIPS Council
is an extremely modest request, considering the massive challenges
LDCs have to face on a daily basis. It is seeking to continue with
Paragraph 7 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, a
measure that has been successfully used by LDC governments and donors
to facilitate access to affordable medicines in LDCs. For the LDC
population it is a matter of life and death. Clearly a positive decision
by this Council will go a long way in saving many lives in LDCs.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the exemption from granting
patents allows least developed countries to either locally produce
or to import generic products even when those are still under patent
in other countries. This can help countries in expanding health coverage
by allowing the health sector to rely on more affordable generic suppliers.
Ability to do competitive procurement, including from local or foreign
manufacturers is in particular important in the area of HIV as well
as for the new treatments for highly prevalent conditions like hepatitis.
The possibility not to grant patents on pharmaceuticals can also play
a crucial role for LDCs to enhance local production of generic versions
of essential medicines through strategic joint ventures. This can
strengthen domestic manufacturing which can contribute to achieving
public health objectives by ensuring security of supply as well as
creating a knowledge economy.
Consequently, said WHO, the LDC group stated that the request aims
at facilitating access to affordable medicines in LDCs and is motivated
by the massive health challenges resulting from communicable and non-communicable
diseases in LDCs, their socio-economic and financial constraints,
as well as the lack of adequate technological base and local manufacturing
capacities in the pharmaceutical sector.
WHO welcomed and supported the LDC request for extension as part of
an overall effort to facilitate access to essential medicines in these
countries and urged the Council for TRIPS to favourably consider this
request.
The Holy See noted that in 2011, of the 34 million people living with
HIV worldwide, some 9.7 million lived in LDCs. Of these, 4.6 million
were in need of antiretroviral treatment (ART); however, only 2.5
million had received it. Up to one-half of those deprived of treatment
were expected to die within 24 months. In the 49 countries designated
as LDCs by the United Nations, non-communicable diseases as well are
rising much faster than in higher income countries.
"We have before us a critical opportunity to help LDCs to reach
health and sustainable development goals and the failure to do so
could put millions of lives at risk. Access to adequate healthcare,
including affordable medicines, remains a key challenge in most LDCs.
The current flexible intellectual property arrangements for LDCs are
a crucial tool for improving health."
In fact, said the Holy See, the flexibility agreed in TRIPS Article
66.1 has been accepted in recognition of the economic, financial,
and administrative constraints preventing LDCs from immediate observance
of all the obligations set out in the TRIPS Agreement. The general
transition period may be useful in supporting the development of a
strong chemical industry that could gradually move toward to production
of API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient).
Long-term sustainability of the local pharmaceutical industry would
require the development of the internal capacity to manufacture generic
formulations thus reducing dependency and the high import costs for
obtaining APIs. In particular, there is a need to develop a second
line HIV treatment which, at present, is more than double the price
of the first line regime. Moreover, the costs for a third line HIV
treatment could be as much as 15 times the price of first line treatment.
Clearly, in this context, the establishment of a pharmaceutical industry
is particularly important.
The Holy See Delegation hoped that a sense of common responsibility,
as shown in the decision adopted, "will bring us all to recommend
to the General Council a waiver for LDCs from obligations under Articles
70.8 and 70.9 of TRIPS for as long as they remain LDCs."
TRIPS NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS
On the TRIPS non-violation and situation disputes issue, informed
trade sources said differences of view persisted among members on
whether non-violation complaints should be applicable under the TRIPS
Agreement.
Brazil, on behalf of a group of developing countries, presented a
revision of a 2002 document (IP/C/W/385/ Rev. 1) on nullification
or impairment disputes under the TRIPS Agreement, sought to be raised
on what are known in GATT parlance as "non-violation and situation"
complaints.
The paper was co-sponsored by Argentina, Bolivia, China, Colombia,
Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan,
Peru, Russia, Sri Lanka and Venezuela.
The proponents of the paper said that like many WTO Members, they
believe that the application of non-violation and situation complaints
to the TRIPS Agreement raises fundamental concerns, which they summarized
in detail in their paper.
They proposed that "... the Council for TRIPS recommend to the
Ministerial Conference that complaints of the type provided for under
subparagraphs 1(b) and 1(c) of Article XXIII of GATT 1994 shall not
apply to the settlement of disputes under the TRIPS Agreement."
According to one participant at the TRIPS Council meeting, the paper
got a lot of support from all the developing countries, while most
of the developed countries reiterated their existing positions. Other
sources said the US and Switzerland were isolated in wanting an end
to the moratorium.
According to other informed trade sources, Brazil said that the paper
represented the common understanding among its co-sponsors that non-violation
complaints are not necessary and are inconsistent with the balance
of rights and obligations under the TRIPS Agreement, and as a whole
in the WTO system itself.
The so-sponsors propose that the Council recommend to the Ministerial
Conference (MC10 in Nairobi) that these complaints shall not apply
to the settlement of disputes under the TRIPS Agreement.
A number of developing countries including the LDC Group, the ACP
Group, and the African Group, as well as Norway and Canada among the
developed spoke in support, said the trade sources.
The US and Switzerland continued to argue that consensus was needed
to extend the period for non-application of non-violation complaints,
these trade sources added.
The TRIPS Council Chair was asked to consult on this matter.
(A more detailed report including the situation on non-violation complaints
under the old GATT 1947, as well as history of this provision in the
TRIPS accord in the run-up to Marrakesh, resulting in the institution
of the moratorium, will be in a forthcoming SUNS issue.) +
