UNB, Dhaka :
Least developed country (LDC) members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including Bangladesh, will now be allowed to maintain maximum flexibility in their approach to patenting pharmaceutical products until at least 2033.
The WTO’s Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) took the decision on Friday to extend the drug patent exemption for poorest members.
Ambassador Shameem Ahsan of Bangladesh, coordinator of the LDC group in the WTO, described the decision as ‘historic’, according to a message received from the WTO headquarters.
He said, it will assure the LDCs the necessary legal certainty to procure or produce generic medicines for those who need it most but do not have any access.
Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed will brief the media on the benefits of the outcome on Sunday, said a Commerce Ministry official here on Saturday.
The Council’s decision extends until January 2033 the period during which key provisions of the WTO’s intellectual property agreement, the TRIPS Agreement, do not apply to pharmaceutical products in LDCs.
This means LDCs can choose whether or not to protect pharmaceutical patents and clinical trial data before 2033. The decision also keeps open the option for further extensions beyond that date.
The latest extension, the second specifically applied to pharmaceutical products for LDCs, is in line with directions set by WTO ministers in the 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.
It also follows the adoption of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which affirm the right of developing countries to utilise TRIPS Agreement flexibilities to ensure access to medicines for all.
WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo hailed the TRIPS Council’s decision and said this decision by the TRIPS Council represents a clear and unambiguous signal that WTO members are committed to addressing the needs of the organisation’s poorest members.
“With the concerns of the least developed countries at centre stage next month at our Nairobi Ministerial Conference, now is the time for WTO to build upon this momentum in other areas of our work,” said Director General Azevêdo.
Least developed country (LDC) members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including Bangladesh, will now be allowed to maintain maximum flexibility in their approach to patenting pharmaceutical products until at least 2033.
The WTO’s Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) took the decision on Friday to extend the drug patent exemption for poorest members.
Ambassador Shameem Ahsan of Bangladesh, coordinator of the LDC group in the WTO, described the decision as ‘historic’, according to a message received from the WTO headquarters.
He said, it will assure the LDCs the necessary legal certainty to procure or produce generic medicines for those who need it most but do not have any access.
Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed will brief the media on the benefits of the outcome on Sunday, said a Commerce Ministry official here on Saturday.
The Council’s decision extends until January 2033 the period during which key provisions of the WTO’s intellectual property agreement, the TRIPS Agreement, do not apply to pharmaceutical products in LDCs.
This means LDCs can choose whether or not to protect pharmaceutical patents and clinical trial data before 2033. The decision also keeps open the option for further extensions beyond that date.
The latest extension, the second specifically applied to pharmaceutical products for LDCs, is in line with directions set by WTO ministers in the 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.
It also follows the adoption of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which affirm the right of developing countries to utilise TRIPS Agreement flexibilities to ensure access to medicines for all.
WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo hailed the TRIPS Council’s decision and said this decision by the TRIPS Council represents a clear and unambiguous signal that WTO members are committed to addressing the needs of the organisation’s poorest members.
“With the concerns of the least developed countries at centre stage next month at our Nairobi Ministerial Conference, now is the time for WTO to build upon this momentum in other areas of our work,” said Director General Azevêdo.
