The World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have published the second edition of a trilateral study that aims to increase understanding of the interaction between the domains of health, trade and intellectual property (IP) policies, and their impacts on medical innovation and access to medical technologies.
La joint publication titled «Promoting access to medical technologies and innovation: intersections between public health, intellectual property and trade» provides an update since the release of the first edition in 2013. The study presents new data on health, innovation trends in the pharmaceutical sector, and trade and tariffs related to medical products, drawing on insights from joint technical assistance activities and taking into account developments in intellectual property legislation and jurisprudence.
The study “draws practical lessons from experiences on how public health, intellectual property, trade and competition rules interact with each other in the broader context of the human rights dimension of health and the (SDGs).” Given the recent rapid changes in these policy fields due to COVID-19, a WTO landing page for the study notes that “a stand-alone section on COVID-19 was added at the beginning of the publication to map the multiple challenges posed by the pandemic in relation to the integrated health, trade and intellectual property policy frameworks set out in the study,” given that the report had been completed before the outbreak of the virus.
The COVID-19 section directs readers to specific chapters, sections and subsections of the report, and provides additional relevant information on the following aspects:
- Meeting the demand for health technologies and medical services;
- Preserve effective international trade;
- The global intellectual property system in the face of the pandemic;
- International initiatives to support research and development and equitable access to COVID-19 technologies;
- Regulatory responses; and
- Efforts to ensure transparency.
The study itself outlines the need for policy coherence and the role of the three authoring institutions (Chapter 1), summarises the policy landscape (Chapter 2) and provides detailed information on issues pertaining specifically to medical innovation and the research and development landscape (Chapter 3) and access to medical technologies (Chapter 4). The report draws connections to the SDGs and the means of implementation, such as trade, across the board. Chapter 2 highlights links to SDGs 3 (good health and well-being), 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) and 17 (partnerships for the Goals), and outlines key elements of trade policy such as tariffs, government procurement rules and trade agreements (FTAs). Chapter 4 considers the impact of trade and business policy on access to medicines and medical technologies.
Noting that "Innovation cannot be isolated from concerns about access", The study emphasizes the need to preserve the integrity of global trade. It notes that “international trade has become increasingly important in ensuring the supply of health-related goods.” Recognizing the recent implementation by governments of emergency trade-restrictive measures, such as export restrictions, the report also emphasizes "the importance of well-functioning supply chains and the need to facilitate cross-border flows of vital medical supplies and services«.
With the EU, the US, China and Switzerland accounting for almost three-quarters of the total export share of health-related products, the majority of the global community appears to be reliant on imports. The study notes that from 1995 to 2018, “substantial and increasing variations in per capita imports of health-related products” have been observed in countries with different levels of development, “highlighting marked differences in access to medicines.” Recognizing the increasing complexity of the global trade regime, the study points to the existence of WTO agreements such as, inter alia, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), as they set standards to ensure that tariffs and non-tariff measures “do not become discriminatory or (become) unnecessary trade barriers.”
The Directors-General of the WTO, WHO and WIPO provided video remarks to support the launch of the study. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo stressed the importance of close collaboration between agencies and of joint global efforts more broadly, while WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry stressed the importance of an interdisciplinary approach. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for the removal of access barriers, highlighting “unaffordable prices, intellectual property barriers, unjustified fees and challenges in ensuring effective and efficient regulatory review” but also noting “unprecedented investments in collaborative, non-profit research” to address the shared threat of COVID-19.
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