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Ho, Cynthia M. --- "Current Controversies Concerning Patent Rights and Public Health in a World of International Norms" [2009] ELECD 259; in Takenka, Toshiko (ed), "Patent Law and Theory" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)

Book Title: Patent Law and Theory

Editor(s): Takenka, Toshiko

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845424138

Section: Chapter 24

Section Title: Current Controversies Concerning Patent Rights and Public Health in a World of International Norms

Author(s): Ho, Cynthia M.

Number of pages: 39

Extract:

24 Current controversies concerning patent
rights and public health in a world of
international norms
Cynthia M. Ho



1 Introduction
Patents are often touted as important and even essential to promoting innova-
tion in the area of drug discovery, but the potential benefits may be illusory or
even non-existent. In particular, to the extent that patent rights entitle their
owner to exclude others from the making of the invention, the patent owner
may price a patented drug at levels that are beyond what some can afford.
Pharmaceutical companies that obtain patents emphasize that patents promote
research that helps all of society and that higher costs for patented drugs are
an unfortunate, but necessary reality to funding expensive research and devel-
opment of drugs. Such companies point to sunk costs such as extensive clini-
cal testing of drugs, including those that never reach the marketplace. Human
rights advocates and developing countries, on the other hand, emphasize that
giving corporations rights to control access to medicine is inhumane where
due to patent protection, treatment is available, but not affordable.
Can patent rights be reconciled with public health? Technically, every
nation has the ability to decide whether or not to grant patents, including
patents on pharmaceutical compounds. Historically, many nations elected not
to provide any patents, or only limited patent rights as one method to promote
greater access to medicine. However, while this option technically still exists,
it is increasingly an illusory option in light of other realities. In particular,
many countries ...