[Ip-health] Updated Foreign Affairs article includes reference to LDC waiver: A Bitter Bill -Can the Access to Medicines Movement Score Another Victory?

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/south-africa/2015-10-18/bitter-pill

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On the global stage, nearly every non-U.S. party to the proposed
Trans-Pacific Partnership resisted the U.S. Trade Representative’s push for
maximum drug patent extensions. The World Health Organization and other
international bodies are increasingly referring to medicine access as a
basic human right. Some national courts are backing up that argument. This
month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is debating the fate of a waiver
that allows the 48 least developed countries an exemption from complying
with TRIPS’ drug patent rules.  Reports indicate that the U.S. is arguing
for only a temporary extension of the waiver that is set to expire on
January 1, 2016, but virtually the entire international community,
including the EU and major UN agencies, supports an indefinite extension.
“I’m absolutely optimistic that there can be big changes, and soon.” Love
says. “We just need to get the messaging right, and we need the political
leadership to step up. I mean, the benefits are so obvious.”