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Activists and progressive health forces in Brazil have succeeded in catalyzing a proposal to reform Brazilian patent law to take advantage of key TRIPS flexibilities in order to increase access to affordable medicines. In August 2013, Brazil will issue a major report and proposed legislative reforms that will: eliminate patent term extensions and data exclusivity, restrict patents on new forms and new uses and tighten the the inventive step requirement (following the India example), adopt government use procedures, and clarify the role that ANVISA, its drug regulatory agency, plays in the patent examination system. We hope to gain sign-ons from hundreds of civil society/activist organizations. Please supply the following information and return to me b.baker@neu.edu.
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This is a very important moment where Brazil can rectify past shortcomings in its patent law and enhance Brazil’s ability to meet patients’ human right to health. The proposed patent reform demonstrates growing momentum in low- and middle-income countries to maximize use of TRIPS-compliant flexibilities to help ensure access to medicines for all. We believe that the support of global civil society organizations is useful both internally to help support adoption in Brazil and externally to counteract what is certain to be strong negative reaction from the US and EU and Big Pharma.
