TY - BOOK AU - Adusei,Poku ED - SpringerLink (Online service) TI - Patenting of Pharmaceuticals and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Laws, Institutions, Practices, and Politics SN - 9783642325151 AV - K4240-4343 U1 - 343.099 23 PY - 2013/// CY - Berlin, Heidelberg PB - Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Imprint: Springer KW - Law KW - Pharmaceutical technology KW - Public health KW - International law KW - Trade KW - Intellectual property KW - Law and legislation KW - Industrial organization KW - Development economics KW - International IT and Media Law, Intellectual Property Law KW - Industrial Organization KW - Public Health KW - Pharmaceutical Sciences/Technology KW - International Economic Law, Trade Law KW - Development Economics N1 - General introduction and overview -- Exploring the conceptual domains for patent discourse in global trade relations -- Evolutionary trajectories of patents and the politics of exclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa -- The ‘myth’ of patent justifications: triumph and failure dichotomy in the north and south -- Patent regulatory and institutional mechanisms in Sub-Saharan Africa -- Pharmaceutical patents, the right to health, and constitutional supremacy in Sub-Saharan Africa -- Pharmaceutical patents and human development in Sub-Saharan Africa -- General conclusions N2 - This book critically investigates the patent protection of medication in light of the threats posed by HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis epidemics to the citizens of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (hereinafter “SSA” or “Africa”). 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 SSA. It argues that for pharmaceutical patents to retain their relevance in SSA countries, human development concepts must be integrated into global patent law- and policy-making. An integrative approach implies developing additional public health and human development exceptions/limitations to the exercise of patent rights with the goal of scaling up access to medication that can treat epidemics in SSA. By drawing on multiple perspectives of laws, institutions, practices, and politics, the book suggests that SSA countries adopt an evidence-based approach to implementing global patent standards in domestic jurisdictions. This evidence-based approach would include mechanisms like local need assessments and the use of empirical data to shape domestic patent law-making endeavors. The approach also implies revising patent rules and policies with a pro-poor and pro-health emphasis, so that medication will be more affordable and accessible to the citizens of SSA countries. It also suggests considering the opinions of individuals and pro-access institutions in enacting crucial pieces of health-related statutes in SSA countries. The approach in this book is sensitive to the public health needs of the citizens affected by epidemics and to the imperative of building local manufacturing facilities for pharmaceutical research and development in SSA UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32515-1 ER -