TRIPS and the international public health controversies: issues and challenges

The aim of this article is to contribute to an evaluation of the meaning and practical effects of the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement on public health issues. Section 2 presents the situation that prevailed for intellectual property (IP) protection in the pharmaceutical industry before the signing of the TRIPS, in both developed countries and developing countries (DCs). Section 3 is devoted to a presentation of the key changes that have taken place at the legal level with the signing of the TRIPS, providing an opportunity to highlight the way in which TRIPS has disrupted the existing situation by generating a series of serious tensions, notably in the relations between North and South countries. Section 4 is devoted to the new challenges posed by the post-2005 scenario, 2005 being the end of the transition period granted DCs to comply with the TRIPS requirements. Section 5, focusing on the Brazilian anti-AIDS program, tries to illustrate how the post-2005 scene has narrowed the margins for efficient action against the AIDS pandemics and put the Brazilian national public health program under strain.