Governments should get tougher on drug patents, says UN
GOVERNMENTS should take a tougher stance on awarding patents to pharmaceutical companies and compel them to publish data on their clinical trials and research costs, the United Nations high-level panel on access to medicines says in a report released on Wednesday.World Trade Organisation member countries should also start working towards a binding treaty that separates the cost of research and development from the final prices of drugs, it said.The panel was established by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to find a way to align trade rules and intellectual property rights with the needs of patients, and thus make medicines more affordable.Patients in countries rich and poor often cannot afford life-saving medicines, and research into many desperately needed new drugs has foundered for lack of sufficient investment.The panel’s 16 members included South African health director-general Precious Matsoso, GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty and Botswana’s former president Festus Mogae.The p...
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