Changes to SA intellectual property policy could cut some cancer drug prices by 90%
The Cancer Alliance has called on the government to reform its intellectual property regime for medicines, saying the current system inhibits competition and keeps drug prices at unaffordable levels.Changes to SA’s intellectual property policy could make medicine prices fall by as much as 90%, it said."Thousands of cancer patients in SA are dying because they cannot afford medicines that are available in other countries at a fraction of the price. These patients are not getting the treatment they need because our government routinely grants patents that could be challenged and rejected," the Cancer Alliance said in a statement.The Alliance is an association of 26 advocacy groups and nonprofit organisations, and has stepped up its campaign to improve patients’ access to life-saving medicines to coincide with World Cancer Day on February 4.Many cancer drugs sold in SA are available at significantly lower prices in India, according to a report published in 2017 by the Cancer Alliance a...
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