New Zealand backs generic drug sales to aid developing nations

New Zealand is to join other nations in accepting an amendment to international trade rules to make it easier for developing countries to buy cheap generic copies of expensive drugs. New Zealand would be amending its patent laws under a Patents Bill submitted to Parliament so that it could export generic drugs to developing nations facing public health problems such as HIV/ AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, Trade Minister Tim Groser said Friday. It would join a long list of countries in agreeing that developing countries should be able to import generic copies of patented drugs if they could not manufacture the drugs themselves. "Affordable access to medicines makes a critical difference to developing countries," Groser said in a statement. "New Zealand supports the principle that all countries have the right to protect public health." New Zealand had played an active role in negotiating the basis of a World Trade Organization (WTO) protocol covering patent provisions in the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which had been in place on a temporary basis since 2003. Once New Zealand had passed the Patents Bill, it would become an "exporting member" under the protocol, allowing it to issue compulsory licenses for the export of generic copies of patented pharmaceuticals requested by countries facing public health crises. The protocol will come into full force once it has been accepted by two thirds of WTO members.