Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Affordable ARVs in China

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Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Affordable ARVs in China

December 4, 2015

The paper attempts to document the recent developments, opportunities and challenges in intellectual property rights and access to affordable medicines in China. The structure of the paper is as follows. Firstly, the paper starts with the epidemiological situations on HIV and hepatitis B in China (section A) and briefly describes the national response to the problem of access to antiretrovirals (ARVs) (section B). Secondly, it analyzes the situation of local production and exports of finished ARVs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) (section C). Thirdly, the importance of flexibilities allowed under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (‘TRIPS Agreement’) is highlighted (section D), followed by an analysis of such flexibilities in China’s intellectual property regime (section E). Finally, the role of civil society in improving prevention and treatment of HIV and access to ARVs is discussed.