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ARTICLE · 25 OCTOBER 2022

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Push vs. Pull: Patents And Access To Medicines

Dennemeyer & Associates S.A.
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The crux of the matter is that patented medicines are costly, often prohibitively for the poorest nations. Ultimately, this impediment derives from the fact that the research and ...

South AfricaIntellectual Property
Robyn-Leigh Merry
Robyn-Leigh Merry
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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issue of access to affordable medicines to the forefront of Intellectual Property (IP) debate in recent months. The tension between the patenting and circulation of drugs is nothing new, but it is felt most keenly in the least-developed and middle-income countries, which suffer under heavy burdens of infectious diseases such as Ebola, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. South Africa, though 36th in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is one such belabored country, with a high level of economic inequality and multiple health crises.

The crux of the matter is that patented medicines are costly, often prohibitively for the poorest nations. Ultimately, this impediment derives from the fact that the research and development (R&D), testing and approval processes required to bring a drug to market are exorbitantly expensive – with the average cost per product exceeding $1 billion USD. Patents provide the incentive to

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