COMPULSORY LICENSES AGAINST PATENTED MEDICINES UNDER TRIPS: A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN IN COMPARISON OF OTHER COUNTRIES

Abstract

Pakistan is a poor country where poverty stands at 78.4% when World Bank utilized the upper middle income rate ($5.5 per day) translating 179 million people. How such people can afford expensive medicines when they are even not able to feed themselves for satisfying their hunger. On the other hand, the prices of medicines have risen 80% in last four years. Such unjustified price hike is caused by many factors including taking benefits of loopholes in policies, regulatory failures and most importantly remaining silent spectator. Government of Pakistan can play a vibrant role by invoking such permissible options under the national as well as international law. Apart from all other regulatory and procedural flaws, granting of frequent patents against pharmaceutical products also a main reason in price hiking. A state can put barriers against unqualified rights of patent holders by invoking TRIPS Flexibilities like issuing of compulsory licensing on its own terms for meeting medical emergencies. When covid-19 hit the world we witnessed various such emergency responds from the world which will be discussed in this article and what role Pakistan should have been played like other countries. This article special focuses on compulsory licensing under the TRIPS with respect to Pakistan. How it can be issued and what benefits it imparts in the way of access to medicines.