[sale0303]

I would like to post in this topic something more about regulations and patents but from the financial angle. We always ask question of whether the product will be accessible to the poor people so I will present few more aspects of that subject.

TRIPS Agreement or Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement was established in 1994 and situation before that agreement was better because there was no interference with national regulations. Third world countries, in which there was little to none patent legislation, those in need of expensive medical goods could, gave access to either those medications sold at competitive market prices or generic drugs. TRIPS force globalization of Western patent laws. After that membership in WTO or World Trade Organization was conditioned by signing of the TRIPS Agreement. As poor countries was in need of the advantages that membership in WTO brings like trade liberalization and many other benefits they were forced to accept the rules of intellectual property which was much more suited to richer nations.

Then there appeared some interesting solutions. HIF or the Health Impact Fund was global agency that has assignment to reward pharmaceutical companies that make their drugs available to those in need. This reform would exclude poor from the patents system. HIF didn't have task to make people renounce the current patent system but just to provide a alternative way in which pharmaceutical companies could make money from the drugs they produce without hurting poor countries and people.

The main idea or some ideal scenario was that as many countries as possible must cooperate on a long term and contribute to the fund so afterwards, various pharmaceutical companies will start with development of drugs reaching as many people as possible so that in the end companies whose medicines have been most effective get rewarded.