Patents, Policies and Pricing: Access to Medicines for Vulnerable Populations in a Global Economy*

Abstract

Many factors contribute to ensuring affordability of medicines for vulnerable populations, for whom cost of medicines constitutes a significant proportion of a family’s budget. Suffice it to say that social determinants of health, such as household income, gender, race and class, determine who will have access to medicines, and at what price. Our underlying premise, in keeping with the theme of the book, is that we consider health to be a fundamental human right, where health is defined in broad terms to include health infrastructure, human resources, preventive and curative aspects of health and affordable medicines. We are also convinced that the state has a pivotal role, directly through the provision of drug plans or universal medical plans or indirectly through price controls and patent policies, in ensuring quality, affordable and accessible health services and medicines for its entire population. Moreover, capacity to develop and market new drugs for the benefit of the vast majority of vulnerable populations in developing countries requires investments by the state in the development of drugs for neglected diseases. In short, a comprehensive approach to public health instead of a piecemeal, disease-based approach is needed.