New Research Guide on Access to Pharmaceuticals in Third World Countries

GlobaLex, the online collection maintained by the New York University School of Law, has added a new research guide to its website. It is called Research Guide on TRIPS and Compulsory Licensing: Access to Innovative Pharmaceuticals for Least Developed Countries:

"This research guide will focus on legal and economic factors surrounding the global problem of gaining access to innovative drugs. The paper will begin with some background history of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), leading up to the most recent modification that was adopted in Hong Kong on December 18, 2005. This discussion is necessary to understand the obstacles against providing access to essential drugs despite the compulsory licensing provision that was passed specifically for that purpose: to help provide essential drugs to those that could not otherwise afford them. The analysis will then consider reasons that support and oppose expanding the compulsory licensing provision to hurdle those obstacles. The analysis will show that the benefits of providing essential medication outweigh the risks of lost capital gains and counterfeit drugs. Finally, the research guide will cite several solutions that have been suggested by others and propose further research on their feasibility".