Doha, Qatar

Under the leadership of the Africa Group, a bloc of more than 80 countries representing a majority of WTO Member States forced concessions from rich countries on the controversial issue of public health and drug company patent rights, despite fierce pressure from the U.S., E.U., Japan and Switzerland to divide the countries.

Such concessions include the statement "Each Member has the right to grant compulsory licenses and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licenses are granted." This statement permits a country to produce and import generic versions of drugs patented in the country issuing the license.

But the declaration that emerged on public health and TRIPS from three days of negotiations was robbed of its full potential, activists say.

"Developing countries came to Doha to extract a clear declaration that public health and access to medicines are more important than protecting the commercial interests of pharmaceutical companies," said Asia Russell of Health GAP Coalition. "At the end of the day, opposition from rich countries crippled the legally binding language sought by the majority of WTO countries."

This pressure also stripped the declaration of resolution on the key issue of how poor countries that have no capacity for production of cheap generic drugs will secure access to recent and future essential treatments. These treatments, that are or will be patent protected in countries with significant domestic generic industry like Brazil and India, could be exported to the poorest countries. Due to opposition from rich countries, the Doha meeting did not provide any guarantee that such actions are permitted.

"Wealthy countries and drug companies refuse to compromise patent monopolies in poor countries that have no domestic capacity. The declaration does nothing to remedy this barrier. The majority of people with AIDS and other treatable diseases live in these countries, so a solution is critical," said Gaelle Krikorian of ACT UP Paris. "The Ministerial Declaration merely acknowledges the problem of exporting drugs to poor countries "rich countries stood in the way of taking the actions that are desperately needed."

Developing countries were seeking protection from rich-country sanctions and other pressures in response to domestic measures, such as compulsory licensing, that break patent monopolies on AIDS medicines and other essential drugs. "Countries levying formal or informal pressure on poor countries that are taking strides to increase drug access should face condemnation from WTO members, because such pressure violates the spirit and terms of this agreement," said Sharonann Lynch of Health GAP Coalition.

"Doha did not end the battle over poor country access to drugs," Lynch continued. "Against the pressure of rich countries and drug companies, the fight must continue to complete the unfinished work of this Ministerial "millions of lives are at stake. We demand that the WTO clarify during the first meeting of the TRIPS Council that nothing in the TRIPS Agreement should stand in the way of countries exporting cheap drugs to poor countries."