Vancouver – Protecting intellectual property (IP) around the world and the rights of creators to freely capitalize on their creations is key to ensuring that global innovation thrives.
The World Intellectual Property Organization is currently faced with the problem counterfeit pharmaceuticals usage in developing countries.
Counterfeit and substandard medicines have been a recurring problem, especially since history is punctuated by shortages in the supply of legitimate anti-microbials. This is especially a problem with patients in developing countries who unsuspectingly use these illegal pharmaceuticals. Poor-quality drugs are a vital (but neglected) public health problem. They contribute to a ‘crevasse’ between the enormous effort in therapeutic research, policy decisions, and the implementation of high-quality medicines.
Many nations agree that the roots of this issue extend from the lack of education, of affordability, and of accessibility in relation to medicine. Being unaware of the harmfulness of using counterfeit drugs, being unable to afford legitimate prescriptions, and being denied the access to proper medicines all contribute to the growing problem.
WIPO’s discussion is heated, with the assembly split into two different, mutually-opposed groups.
One group encourages the development of a system that decreases the cost of legitimate pharmaceuticals. Many agree that one of the leading causes of this continuous problem is that the people of developing nations lack the ability to afford expensive medicines, much less afford the basic needs.
Opposing this, the delegation of Vietnam states, “what we need to be focusing on is not affordability, but rather accessibility… the question ‘can we purchase these products?’ cannot be considered the [foremost] problem when people do not have access to… legitimate medication to start with.”
Meanwhile, the rate at which these “fake” products are being made and distributed is continuing to grow rapidly.
The World Intellectual Property Organization is currently faced with the problem counterfeit pharmaceuticals usage in developing countries.
Counterfeit and substandard medicines have been a recurring problem, especially since history is punctuated by shortages in the supply of legitimate anti-microbials. This is especially a problem with patients in developing countries who unsuspectingly use these illegal pharmaceuticals. Poor-quality drugs are a vital (but neglected) public health problem. They contribute to a ‘crevasse’ between the enormous effort in therapeutic research, policy decisions, and the implementation of high-quality medicines.
Many nations agree that the roots of this issue extend from the lack of education, of affordability, and of accessibility in relation to medicine. Being unaware of the harmfulness of using counterfeit drugs, being unable to afford legitimate prescriptions, and being denied the access to proper medicines all contribute to the growing problem.
WIPO’s discussion is heated, with the assembly split into two different, mutually-opposed groups.
One group encourages the development of a system that decreases the cost of legitimate pharmaceuticals. Many agree that one of the leading causes of this continuous problem is that the people of developing nations lack the ability to afford expensive medicines, much less afford the basic needs.
Opposing this, the delegation of Vietnam states, “what we need to be focusing on is not affordability, but rather accessibility… the question ‘can we purchase these products?’ cannot be considered the [foremost] problem when people do not have access to… legitimate medication to start with.”
Meanwhile, the rate at which these “fake” products are being made and distributed is continuing to grow rapidly.