Sanders Pushes USTR to Support Indefinite Waiver of LDC Medicine Patent Obligations
The Obama administration should lobby the United Nations to indefinitely waive World Trade Organization obligations to “grant and enforce pharmaceutical patents” for least-developed countries (LDCs), said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in…
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recent days, citing humanitarian needs to safeguard the health of LDC communities. “In February, these impoverished countries submitted a request to the WTO for a permanent extension of the exception of the obligations to grant drug patents, for as long as a country is classified as an LDC by the [United Nations],” said Sanders in the Sept. 28 letter (here). “The European Commission has announced it will support a permanent exception for drug patents for these poor countries. Based on conversations between my staff and the staff at [USTR], I understand the administration does not support a permanent exception for drug patents for these poor countries.” The WTO is set to make a decision on that exemption in mid-October, said Sanders.