Patenting of Pharmaceuticals and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Laws, Institutions, Practices, and Politics

312 Pages·2013·2.106 MB·English

by  Poku Adusei (auth.)

Patenting of Pharmaceuticals and Development
in Sub-Saharan Africa
.
Poku Adusei
Patenting of Pharmaceuticals
and Development
in Sub-Saharan Africa
Laws, Institutions, Practices, and Politics
PokuAdusei
FacultyofLaw
UniversityofGhana
Accra
Ghana
ISBN978-3-642-32514-4 ISBN978-3-642-32515-1(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-32515-1
SpringerHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2012950013
#Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2013
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionor
informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.Exemptedfromthislegalreservationarebriefexcerpts
inconnectionwithreviewsorscholarlyanalysisormaterialsuppliedspecificallyforthepurposeofbeing
enteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthework.Duplication
ofthispublicationorpartsthereofispermittedonlyundertheprovisionsoftheCopyrightLawofthe
Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from
Springer.PermissionsforusemaybeobtainedthroughRightsLinkattheCopyrightClearanceCenter.
ViolationsareliabletoprosecutionundertherespectiveCopyrightLaw.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt
fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of
publication,neithertheauthorsnortheeditorsnorthepublishercanacceptanylegalresponsibilityfor
anyerrorsoromissionsthatmaybemade.Thepublishermakesnowarranty,expressorimplied,with
respecttothematerialcontainedherein.
Printedonacid-freepaper
SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com)
I dedicate this book with love:
To my granny, Afua Awo Donkor, who
started it all!
To my late teacher, Stephen Kwadwo
Bonnah, who tutored me!!
To my mom, Florence Achiaa, and
my uncle, Samuel Nsiah, who tended it!!!
&
To my wife, Esther, who continues to bear
the brunt of it!!!!
.
Foreword
Dr.PokuAduseihasinthisbookventuredintoareashithertogiventheshortshrift
bymanyscholars.Thiswell-writtenbookdealswiththecomplexissueofwhether
patentprotectioninSub-SaharanAfricahashadnegativeanddevastatingimpacts
onpersonsinAfricafacingchallengesofaccesstovitalmedicinesinthecontextof
thethreatsposedbyHIV/AIDS,malaria,andtuberculosisepidemics.
Movingbeyondthecliche´dbromidesaboutsufferinganddiseaseinAfrica,the
authorinterrogatestherelationshipbetweentheglobalpatentsystemandaccessto
vital drugs in the context of the HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis epidemics.
Thesuprememeritofthisbookisitscourageousunmaskingofthe‘Africaisdying’
industry supported by lobbyists, NGOs, donors, and scholars who have fed fat on
theirsupposedexpertiseofallthingswrongwithAfrica.Despitethenever-ending
catalogueofdiseasesandinfirmitiesafflictingpoorpeopleacrosstheworld,andin
Africainparticular,littlenuancedandgroundedworkhasbeendoneonthesubject
in a manner that takes into serious account the necessary complexities, if not
complicitiesofvariousactors.
Happily,thisbookmarksadeparturefromthetiresomeroutine.Byitsrigorous
andholistictreatmentofthesubject,anditsengagementwiththehumandevelop-
ment question which ultimately undergirds the question, the author maps a path
towardsresolvingtheproblems.Dr.Aduseiwritesinadirectandlucidmanner.His
criticisms of contemporary literature are informed and evenhanded. He avoids
bombasticrhetoric.
More importantly, this book is evidence-based. This is a strong point. In addi-
tion, the author demonstrates alertness to the implications of his findings and has
showncourageinpursuingthelogicofhisarguments.Thisisaverytimely,well-
written,andusefulworkandisverylikelytoinfluencepolicy-making.Itsinfluence
wouldalsobeimpactful.
OsgoodeHallLawSchool IkechiMgbeoji
Toronto
vii
.
Preface and Acknowledgments
MahatmaGandhi(1869–1948)onceidentifiedtwoofthesevensinsintheworldas:
“commerce without morality” and “science without humanity.” I do not know if
Gandhi’s advice to moderate trade and science for the benefit of humanity had
anythingtodowithpatentlaw.Butsuchahumanistapproachtolifeiswhatmany
voices from different parts of the globe have articulated in policy and academic
discourseonpatents,andmineisnoexception.Thisbookthusadvocatesaneedto
reconstructtheglobalizedpatentregimetoaddresspublichealthanddevelopment
challengesthatconfrontthecitizensofcountriesinSub-SaharanAfrica(hereinafter
SSAorAfrica).
This book was inspired by the absence of a comprehensive study of the
connections between patents, access to medicine, and development in SSA. My
interest in this topic developed from witnessing firsthand the hardships that
individualsgothroughinpartsofAfricatoobtaintreatmentforotherwisecurable
diseases. This book, therefore, contributes to the rich discourse on patents, public
healthanddevelopment,fromasubalternperspective,byproposingalegalframe-
work for the adoption of pharmaceutical patents that serve human development
needs in SSA. The book will serve as a resource text for students, scholars, and
policy-makers working in the fields of patents, public health, constitutional law,
politicalscience,anddevelopmentstudiesinAfrica andbeyond. Theresearchfor
thisbookwasconductedinSeptember2008toJanuary2012.
The book outlines the systemic problems associated with the prevailing
globalized patent regime and the regime’s inability to promote access to life-
saving medication at affordable prices in poor regions such as SSA. The book
then goes on to argue that for pharmaceutical patents to retain their relevance in
SSAcountrieshumandevelopmentconceptsmustbeintegratedintoglobalpatent
lawandpolicy-making.Anintegrativeapproachhereimpliesdevelopingadditional
public health and human development exceptions/limitations to the exercise of
patent rights with the goal of scaling up access to essential medicines to treat
ix