School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Public Health. 2019 Aug;173:1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2019.04.019. Epub 2019 Jun 13.
The short communication is prompted by the debate relating to the effect of pharmaceutical patents on access to affordable medicines, particularly in Africa. A recent amendment made to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement creates a policy space for the regional alliance of low-income countries for the collective procurement and local production of drugs under compulsory licensing. This article examines the extent to which the regional mechanism can deliver access to pharmaceuticals. The article examines the regional mechanism in the light of the recent regional trade agreements and pharmaceutical plans of some regional economic blocs in Africa as well as the newly signed African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
This short communication adopts a descriptive approach in linking the regional mechanism in the TRIPS amendment to the regional trade agreements of African countries at the subregional and continental levels.
To ascertain the extent to which TRIPS Agreements regional model can deliver access to medicines in Africa, the article adopts a desk review approach by examining the relevant provisions of TRIPS Agreement, particularly the newly added Article 31bis, and the provisions of the relevant regional and continental free trade agreements in Africa.
The article finds that although the regional model has great prospects in supporting the wider effort to deliver access to medicine, the limitations to its operative utilization may weaken its potency in addressing the urgent public health needs of the continent.
The article concludes by stressing the inevitability of Africa's integration in tackling the deficiency of access to generic medicines in Africa. It was noted that even though there could be some potential challenges, the regional mechanism is indeed the way to go for low-income countries.
这篇简短的交流文章是由关于药品专利对获得负担得起的药品的影响的辩论引发的，特别是在非洲。《与贸易有关的知识产权协定》（TRIPS）最近的一项修正案为低收入国家的区域联盟创造了政策空间，以便在强制许可下集体采购和本地生产药品。本文考察了区域机制在多大程度上可以实现药品的可及性。本文根据最近的区域贸易协定以及非洲一些区域经济集团的药品计划以及新签署的非洲大陆自由贸易协定（AfCFTA），考察了区域机制。
本简短交流采用描述性方法，将 TRIPS 修正案中的区域机制与非洲国家在次区域和大陆层面的区域贸易协定联系起来。
为了确定 TRIPS 协议区域模式在多大程度上可以在非洲实现药品的可及性，本文通过审查 TRIPS 协议的相关条款，特别是新增加的第 31 条之二，以及非洲相关区域和大陆自由贸易协定的条款，采用案头审查方法来确定。
本文发现，尽管区域模式在支持更广泛的提供药品可及性方面具有很大的前景，但对其运作的限制可能会削弱其解决非洲大陆紧迫公共卫生需求的效力。
本文最后强调了非洲在解决非洲通用药品可及性不足问题上必须进行一体化的必要性。尽管可能存在一些潜在的挑战，但区域机制确实是低收入国家的出路。
