November 8th, 2007

Mexico takes a stand for innovation and against madness at WHO

Posted in  Health Care  Intellectual Property 
Author: Tom Giovanetti || Location: Geneva, Switzerland

At the World Health Organization, where a handful of Marxist NGOs have manipulated developing countries to push for the elimination of patents on pharmaceutical and medical products (much more on that later), the Mexican delegation is standing up for innovation and sound economic thinking.

I think a trip to Mexico City to give them all medals should be a part of my future travel plans.

Here is the anti-IP language that Mexico is rightly seeking to have deleted from the final document that will be produced by the Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health:

"Intellectual property, investment or trade agreements should not prevent a country from adopting measures necessary to prevent anti-competitive practices that may result from the abuse of intellectual property rights." (Mexico suggests delete)

" . . . urge active and effective participation of health representatives in IP-related negotiations in order to ensure that the outcomes of such negotiations incorporate all of the flexibilities important to address public health needs." (Mexico suggests delete)

" . . . establish measures to avoid unethical experiments involving human beings as a requirement for registration of medicines and technologies." (Mexico suggests delete).

" . . . avoid the incorporation of TRIPS-plus measures in any trade agreements and in national legislation that may have negative impact on access to health products or treatments in developing countries." (Mexico suggests delete)

" . . . take necessary legislative steps in countries with manufacturing and export capacity to allow compulsory licensing with the aim of facilitating access to medicines consistent with the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health." (Mexico suggests delete).

" . . . take necessary legislative steps to allow compulsory licensing for export consistent with the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health." (Mexico suggests delete).

" . . . developing countries should adopt or effectively implement policies in order to prevent or correct anti-competitive practices related to the use of patents for health products, including the use of pro-competitive measures available under the intellectual property law." (Mexico suggests delete).

" . . . consider measures to ensure the strict application of the patentability criteria in order to obtain the best interpretation for public health as stated in paragraph 4 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and public health." (Mexico suggests delete).

All of this language proceeds from the assumption that patent rights are the primary culprit that keeps poor countries from having the kind of access to medicines that they would like to have.

More on the what is going on at WHO in later blog posts. For now, kudos to Mexico for standing up for intellectual property and sound economics, and for standing against the Marxist madness that has pervaded the discussions at WHO thus far.