New Guide To TRIPS Health Provisions In FTAs

A new policy guide has been released that analyzes the public health effects of intellectual property rights provisions in bilateral trade agreements. The guide has a special focus on the Eastern Mediterranean region with applicability to other regions.

The 280-page guide is entitled ‘Public Health Related TRIPS-plus Provisions in Bilateral Trade Agreements: A Policy Guide for Negotiators and Implementers in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region’. It was jointly published by the World Health Organization and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development.

The guide is available here.

According to author Mohammed El Said, a professor in international trade law at the University of Central Lancashire (UK): “The main focus of this comprehensive policy guide – the first of its kind solely dedicated to the region – is to analyze the effect of bilateral trade agreements on public health regimes and access to medicines in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. It also aims at providing policy, technical guidance and assistance to policy-makers and practitioners with respect to intellectual property provisions included under bilateral trade agreements that potentially have an adverse effect on public health.”