The issue of intellectual property (IP) and its implications for access to health products has recently gained greater prominence due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the pandemic exposed intellectual property protections and other exclusive rights as an obstacle to equitable access to health products.
The use of TRIPS flexibilities and other solutions that foster competition can increase affordability, which enables access to more people and results in savings. It can also increase supply security by expanding the manufacturing base. Thus, it will contribute to enhancing equity between countries, as it benefits low-income countries and – particularly – middle-income countries that are normally not included in voluntary solutions. Without intervention, the inequities in access to health products will only worsen. As a result, populations that are already vulnerable and marginalized will face an elevated, and increasing, risk of disease, poverty, reduced quality of life, and even death.
Patents and other intellectual property rights incentivise innovation, but also limit competition that can stabilize supply and reduce prices. Unitaid has a longstanding commitment to IP-related work that aims to contribute to overcoming access challenges related to patents and other intellectual property rights when they hinder equitable access to health products. This is reflected in Unitaid’s investment in collaborative and voluntary solutions (such as the creation and funding of the Medicines Patent Pool, which negotiates voluntary licenses), which remain the foundation of Unitaid’s work on intellectual property and access to medicines. However, voluntary licenses and collaborative solutions do not extend to all LMICs or to all relevant patented health products and technologies. When intellectual property rights hamper access to health products in countries that are not included in voluntary licenses, or when there are no voluntary licenses for particular patented products and technologies, other solutions are needed, such as the use of TRIPS flexibilities. TRIPS flexibilities therefore complement the use of voluntary licenses.
Supporting the use of TRIPS flexibilities has been an integral part of Unitaid’s contribution to realizing more equitable access to medicines since 2018. Work supported by Unitaid has successfully removed unwarranted intellectual property barriers on HIV, TB and hepatitis C medicines, contributing to the availability of better formulations and lower prices. This type of work is even more necessary now, as the need to reallocate significant funds to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic has increased pressure on both national and donor budgets. Thus, it is anticipated that the price of health products will increasingly be a factor in determining access. Overcoming IP barriers, where they occur, to ensure affordability of optimized treatments for HIV, TB, hepatitis C and other diseases, will therefore remain crucial to help avoid (further) setbacks in the fight against these diseases.
Through this Call for Proposals, Unitaid aims to continue the support for capacity building on and use of TRIPS flexibilities and to expand these efforts to technical support, advocacy and awareness raising, and policy interventions. Unitaid also seeks to address a broader range of intellectual property barriers, such as trade secrets and regulatory exclusivity, that are particularly relevant for biological products.
