UNCTAD Official: Need For Policy Coherence In Local Pharmaceutical Production

Despite progress in recent years to boost local pharmaceutical production in developing countries, policy coherence across the countries is lacking, according to an official at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Intellectual Property Watch sat down recently with Christoph Spennemann, a legal expert in the Intellectual Property Unit, Division on Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD. He discussed the need for policy coherence in facilitating local pharmaceutical production in developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs).

“In recent years, we have seen important initiatives in developing countries and least-developed countries to promote local production of pharmaceuticals as a means of health security,” said Spennemann.

“Appropriate legal and policy frameworks in interconnected areas such as investment, health, intellectual property, innovation and trade need to be in place to ensure not only economically viable production, but also increase access to high quality medicines that are essential to address the specific health needs of developing countries,” he said.

These efforts can be supported through regional integration where countries can learn from each other’s best practices. And, regionally harmonised policy and legal frameworks can trigger adaptation of national policies.

UNCTAD’s role is to assist interested developing countries and LDCs in the establishment of such legal and policy frameworks.

Spennemann recently delivered this message at an event that took place at the European Development Days in Brussels, emphasising the need for policy coherence.

UNCTAD has two additional workshops planned for September, intended to bring together various stakeholders including government and the private sector to discuss how different countries are managing the issue of local pharmaceutical production.

One workshop will take place in Thailand [doc], focusing on Thailand and Vietnam. The other workshop will take place in Uganda [doc], focusing on the East African Community (EAC).

Spennemann commented that the countries participating in the workshops could benefit from each other through their mutual exchange of experiences. He also said that one of the purpose of these events is to make recommendations to the governments with a view of improving policy coherence in local pharmaceutical production.

The EAC, Spennemann said, has followed the model of policy alignment in various ways. For example, the EAC has phased out tariffs on pharmaceutical inputs, and has harmonised the drug regulation framework. Also, the implementation of the EAC Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa is promoting local pharmaceutical production.

But a problem that persists for the EAC, according to Spennemann, is its inability to find an appropriate response to counterfeit and substandard drugs. The EAC member states have responded in a way that contradicts the principle of policy coherence, he said.

For example, Kenya introduced an Anti-Counterfeit Act and Uganda introduced a Counterfeit Goods Bill. Both pieces of law included broad definitions of “counterfeit” which, Spennemann explained, carried the risk of capturing generic drug producers.

Ani Mamikon is an intern at Intellectual Property Watch. She recently completed her Juris Doctor at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. She holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science and International Security Studies. She has a strong interest various IP issues relating to privacy, human rights and information technology. Recently, she has also developed a keen interest in patent law.

Rishi Dhir is an intern at Intellectual Property Watch. He holds a Juris Doctor with honours from the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. He also holds dual Bachelor Honour Degrees in Mathematics and Business Administration from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. Rishi has an interest in a variety of IP issues including copyright law, piracy and Internet governance.