Pharmaceutical nationalism as an instrument to ensure the access to medicines

Abstract

Keywords: pharmaceutical nationalism, access to drugs, compulsory licensing, governmentuse, exclusion from intellectual property rights
 The article concerns the emergence of the phenomena of«pharmaceutical nationalism» in the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmaceuticalnationalism is manifested in the qualitative and quantitative aspects. In the contextof a qualitative manifestation of pharmaceutical nationalism, we presume the politicalwill on establishing of a new state protectionist policy to local manufacturers ofmedicines, the establishing of preferences, exemptions of the patent monopoly basingon international legal instruments (TRIPS-flex). The quantitative aspect of pharmaceuticalnationalism is the primacy of satisfaction of the needs of the domestic marketof medicines in quantities that could ensure the biological security of individually foreach state, independently of the interests of others. The article also raises the issue ofthe need and means of forming pharmaceutical nationalism in Ukraine.The world community is calling for the demonopolization of research results on theprevention and treatment of COVID-19. WHO invites developers and companies towork together to ensure the disclosure of treatments and methods if they prove effective.International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions also presentedan open letter to WIPO urging WIPO to use all available flexible intellectual propertymechanisms to maximize global access to information (research data) on the treatmentof COVID-19. Canada, Israel and the EU are working to prevent the monopolizationof COVID-19 prevention and treatment.Ukraine should actively work to develop legislation in the field of compulsory licensing,as provided for in Art. 31 TRIPS Agreement. From a political point of view, itis the historical chance of Ukraine to become «he second India» or «the first Ukraine»in Europe in the production of generic medicines and biosimilars.