Alternate Dispute Resolution

Exploiting Patent Regulatory "Flexibilities" to Promote Access to Antiretroviral Medicines in Sub-Saharan Africa

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The HIV/AIDS pandemic has reached a crescendo in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA or Saharan region). This
disease threatens to exterminate the human race in the Saharan region. The situation is further exacerbated by
high prices of brand-name antiretroviral medicines due to the prevailing international patent regime. And,
attempts to promote the manufacture and import of generic versions of antiretroviral drugs are sometimes met
with stiff resistance from pharmaceutical companies who own the1Jatents. This article, therefore, seeks to
examine the subject of patent regulation of antiretroviral drugs in light of the threat posed by HIV/AIDS
in SSA. It urges the exploitation of diverse patent regulatory mechanisms to promote access to antiretroviral
drugs in the region worst hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Exploiting patent regulatory flexibilities implies the
use of negotiations, compulsory licensing mechanisms, public-private partnerships, collaborative initiatives
among regional economic blocs, increased drug-pricing competition, and a rejection of TRIPS· Plus obligations,
among others, to procure relatively cheaper versions of antiretroviral medicines for persons infected
with the virus. This will enable policymakers in the Sub-Saharan region to respond more effectively to expand
the capacities of HIV/AIDS-affected persons and make them more productive. It will further save the
healthcare systems in SSA from imminent collapse.

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: The Journal of World Intellectual Property.,

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English

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