by Cynthia Ho (Author)
Access to medicine is a topic of widespread interest. However, some issues that impact such access are presently inadequately understood. In particular, international laws require most nations to provide patents on drugs, resulting in premium prices that limit access. In Access to Medicine in the Global Economy, Professor Cynthia Ho explains such laws and their impact for a diverse group of readers, from scholars and policy makers to students in a variety of disciplines. This book explains and interprets important international agreements, beginning with the landmark Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), but also including more recent free trade agreements and the pending Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Professor Ho addresses controversial topics, such as when a nation can provide a compulsory license, as well as whether a nation may suspend in-transit generic goods. The book also discusses how patent-like rights (such as data exclusivity ) prevent lower-cost generic medicines from entering into the marketplace and provides strategies for minimizing the harm of such rights. Clear explanations and diagrams, frequently asked questions, and case studies make these topics accessible to any reader. The case studies also provide a theory of patent perspectives that helps explain why access to medicine, though a universal goal, remains elusive in practice. The book aims to provide an important first step toward eventual workable solutions by promoting a better understanding of existing and future laws that impact access to medicine.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 432
Publisher: OUP USA
Published: 21 Apr 2011
ISBN 10: 0195390121
ISBN 13: 9780195390124
Cynthia Ho's Access to Medicine in the Global Economy offers both experts and novices a well-organized and highly readable survey that will make a real contribution to our understanding of the pressures on global public health providers under the TRIPS Agreement of 1994 and related Free Trade Agreements.
JEROME H. REICHMAN,
Bunyan S. Womble Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law
Cynthia Ho provides an illuminating and accessible understanding of one of the more contentious issues in intellectual property and public health. She walks readers through the many challenges patents pose to access to medicines, presenting competing perspectives as she thoughtfully analyzes and assesses the contemporary dynamics of international patent controversies. Very well-researched and clearly written, this terrifi c book deserves a wide readership.
SUSAN K. SELL, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Director, Institute of Global and International Studies, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.