On Wednesday, 10 June 2015, Norway – a high-income member of the WTO with a GDP per capita of 100,898 USD- (Source: World Bank, 2013) delivered this powerful intervention supporting the LDC Group request for an extension of the transition period for pharmaceutical products. On the LDC Group’s specific request on extension until graduation, Norway said,
We also support the request that the extension and waivers shall last as long as a member remains a LDC. As we know, a member does not self-designate itself as an LDC. That status depends on particular socio-economic indicators. As long as a member is an LDC, it will have institutional and financial constraints, as well as lack of adequate technological base and pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. It will therefore need flexibility and maximum policy space to enable it to confront its health challenges with effective and affordable strategies. An extension for as long as a member is an LDC will also ensure legal certainty and predictability, which may contribute to keeping costs for medicine down and ensuring investment in the pharmaceutical sector of the LDCs.
Here is the statement in full.
As deliveredTRIPS COUNCIL MEETING 9 AND 10 JUNE 2015
11. REQUEST FOR AN EXTENSION OF THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD UNDER ARTICLE 66.1 FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS WITH RESPECT TO PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS AND FOR WAIVERS FROM THE OBLIGATIONS OF ARTICLES 70.8 AND 70.9
Statement by Norway
- Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good morning colleagues.
- Norway would like to thank the LDCs for their submission, and for explaining it in more detail yesterday.
- Norway recognizes the gravity of the public health challenges faced by the LDCs. Indeed, the representative of Uganda yesterday painted a stark and troubling, yet realistic, picture of the situation on the ground in the LDCs. In our view, the TRIPS Agreement should not prevent members, and particularly those in dire need like many of the LDCs, from taking measures to protect public health. In this regard, access to affordable medicines is particularly important.
- Norway acknowledges the relationship between the protection of patent rights and pricing of patented drugs. Access to essential medicines depends heavily on prices. This is particularly true for members who have neither the production capacity nor the means to provide prevention, treatment or care for their inhabitants.
- With this in mind, Norway fully supports the LDCs’ request for an extension of the transition period under article 66.1 as regards pharmaceuticals. We also support the request for waivers from the obligations of Articles 70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement with respect to pharmaceuticals.
- Norway notes that the LDCs have been granted a general extension of the transition period up until 2021. We still see merits in a particular extension of the transition period for the provisions in question as regards pharmaceuticals. In our view, this would ensure the legal certainty that the LDCs and the relevant operators need in order to ensure access to medicines vital to life and health.
- We also support the request that the extension and waivers shall last as long as a member remains a LDC. As we know, a member does not self-designate itself as an LDC. That status depends on particular socio-economic indicators. As long as a member is an LDC, it will have institutional and financial constraints, as well as lack of adequate technological base and pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. It will therefore need flexibility and maximum policy space to enable it to confront its health challenges with effective and affordable strategies. An extension for as long as a member is an LDC will also ensure legal certainty and predictability, which may contribute to keeping costs for medicine down and ensuring investment in the pharmaceutical sector of the LDCs.
- To conclude, Norway is of the firm opinion that the request from the LDCs is “duly motivated” and we call upon the Council to grant the extension in accordance with Article 66.1, as well as recommend to the General Council that the requested waivers be adopted.