WTO makes cheaper medicines available to developing countries

The WTO has decided to amend the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement in accordance with the decision on patents and access to medicines of 2003. The decision set aside a provision of the TRIPS agreement that hinders exports of patent-protected pharmaceuticals without the consent of the patent holder. Developing countries that do not have their own pharmaceuticals industry will thus be able to import cheaper medicines produced under compulsory licence for life-threatening diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Today’s decision means that the decision of 2003 will be formally built into the TRIPS agreement.

“The WTO has thus ensured that the TRIPS agreement will not impede efforts to give developing countries access to cheaper medicines,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. “Access to cheaper medicines is vital in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases that affect developing countries particularly severely and undermine their opportunities for economic growth.”

He pointed out that Norway has taken an active, high-profile part in the negotiations on patents and public health, and that Norway was also the first country to implement the decision. The government will now seek to persuade other countries to make the necessary changes to their own legislation as soon as possible, and in such a way that developing countries that lack sufficient production capacity to manufacture their own medicines can readily benefit from the permanent amendment.