Drug Treatments in Developing Countries (Hansard, 25 March 2004)

HC Deb 25 March 2004 vol 419 c964W 964W

§ Mr. Battle
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress in making cheaper generic drug treatments available to developing countries, pursuant to the World Trade Organisation agreement on trade related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Public Health of August 2003. [162590]

§ Ms Hewitt
The UK Government will be working with our European partners on incorporating the WTO Decision on TRIPs and Public Health into law at EU level. This will enable both the granting of compulsory licences for export of patented medicines in the circumstances laid down in the decision, and appropriate safeguards to ensure that medicines exported in this fashion are not diverted from their intended recipients.