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World Trade Organisation (WTO) upholds generic drugs ruling

Date published: 07/12/2005

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has upheld a decision to allow developing countries to import cheap versions of patented drugs. The ruling, originally made in 2003, allows poorer nations to buy in generic drugs for humanitarian reasons but not commercial. The waiver could be used to allow countries to buy up cheap copies of anti-viral drugs used in HIV/AIDS treatment.

Both the EU and the US welcomed the move, with European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson commenting that: "The EU has worked hard for this outcome and welcomes that others have moved to make this possible."

Trade representative for the US Rob Portman said: "This is a landmark achievement that we hope will help developing countries devastated by HIV/Aids and other public health crises."

However, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told Reuters that the waiver remained far too complicated for developing nations to use, and failed to create a large enough market for generic drugs to push down prices.

MSF said in a statement that the ruling "has long been viewed by MSF and other public health groups as overly cumbersome and inefficient" and added that it "does not allow for the procurement of medicines through international tendering, which is the most common and efficient way of purchasing drugs".

The charity said that not one single country had used the agreement to procure generics.

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