Enforcement costs: some humanitarian alternatives to stronger patent rights

Diseases that cause comparatively few problems in developed countries kill millions of people in the Third World each year. In many cases, people die because they cannot afford the medication needed to save their lives. In others, there are simply no drugs available because there are no wealthy western patients to justify pharmaceutical companies investing in a cure. This reveals a deep-seated problem within the patent system and the pharmaceutical industry that emphasises markets and profits at the expense of health and global welfare. Global efforts have seen substantial improvements in access to medicines in isolated areas, but with international agreements driving towards stronger patent protection and the expiry date for the TRIPS grace period fast approaching, it is time to consider alternatives which will allow the patent system to work for the humanitarian cause rather than against it. This paper considers two such problems in the patent system and pharmaceutical industry - prohibitive pricing and misdirected incentives - to offer a mode of regulation and enforcement that will support both a viable pharmaceutical industry and the human right to health and medication.