PRIVATE PATENTS AND PUBLIC HEALTH
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<strong>PRIVATE</strong> <strong>PATENTS</strong> <strong>AND</strong> <strong>PUBLIC</strong> <strong>HEALTH</strong><br />
2003 The WHO starts the “3 by 5” initiative to expand access to<br />
HIV treatment to 3 million people by 2005.<br />
2003 Thailand offers universal access to ARVs to people living<br />
with AIDS.<br />
2003 WTO adopts the ‘August 30th’ decision to allow drugs to be<br />
produced under a compulsory licence predominantly for<br />
export.<br />
2003 In South Africa, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) wins<br />
its case against GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Boehringer<br />
Ingelheim before the Competition Commission, which<br />
found the companies guilty of anti-competitive practices.<br />
2003 President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is<br />
launched in the United States.<br />
2003 The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), a notfor-profit<br />
drug development organisation, is founded.<br />
2003 The United Kingdom Commission on Intellectual Property<br />
Rights publishes its report, concluding that the new global<br />
architecture for intellectual property has serious drawbacks<br />
for developing countries, particularly for access to medicines.<br />
2005 (March) India amends its 1970 Patents Act to introduce<br />
pharmaceutical product patents, as required by the TRIPS<br />
Agreement.<br />
2006 (January) The Indian Patent Office rejects the patent<br />
application by Novartis for imatinib mesylate (Glivec).<br />
2006 (March) The Indian Network of People Living with<br />
HIV/AIDS and the Manipur Network of Positive People file<br />
at the Kolkata patent office in India a pre-grant opposition<br />
to GSK patent application for AZT/3TC (Combivir).<br />
2006 (May) Novartis sues the Indian government over its amended<br />
Patents Act, attempting to overturn the provision (Section<br />
3d) that establishes higher patentability criteria. The criteria<br />
were aimed at only granting patents to highly innovative<br />
products, thereby preventing frivolous patenting and<br />
‘evergreening’ of patents.<br />
2006 Establishment of UNITAID, a new mechanism for the<br />
purchase of medicines, financed by a tax on airline tickets.<br />
2006 WHO Commission on Intellectual Property Rights,<br />
Innovation and Public Health publishes its report, leading<br />
the World Health Assembly to establish the<br />
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