Regional Issues Brief: Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Medicines

This Regional Issues Brief has been written to provide an overview of an area of enquiry that the Global Commission on HIV and the Law is examining – issues of laws pertaining to intellectual property rights and access to medicines. It has been undertaken through a literature review of laws and documentation of their enforcement in the context of Asia and the Pacific. It serves as an information resource and complements the report of the Regional Dialogue for Asia and the Pacific that was held under the auspices of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law in Bangkok on 16 and 17 February 2011.

Significant advances in treatment access in the Asia Pacific region have resulted from the work of activists who have campaigned to ensure that intellectual property laws do not impose unreasonable constraints on access to HIV medicines. Activists have achieved a number of successes through campaigning and litigation in Thailand and India. The focus of campaigning has been on challenging overbroad patents and trade agreements that block production and importation of affordable generic versions of HIV medicines. The legal response to access to medicines in the region continues to be influenced by heated policy debates between consumer activists and the mainstream pharmaceutical industry.