Strasbourg, 10/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - When the European Parliament in Strasbourg last week adopted the report by UK Conservative Bashir Khanbhai, it asked the EU to ensure the right of developing countries to produce and sell on the domestic market generic medicines used to treat great epidemics is recognised at international level, using the options provided in the TRIPS agreement, particularly obligatory licences, revising them from time to time and supporting the amendment of the agreement where necessary. At the same time, it calls for developing country governments to dedicate a sufficient share of their national income to healthcare.
Parliament highlights the instrument of obligatory patents, but calls on the Commission to prepare a carefully documented proposal concerning the mandate to be granted with a view to assessing and proposing means for revising the relevant articles in the TRIPS agreement so as to reduce the protection of patents awarded for 20 years only for transmissible diseases, protection that is set in the TRIPS agreement for a series of patented medicines; and lay down the conditions under which the "rejuvenation" process would apply (making minor changes to a patented medicine in order to extend the duration of protection). It also asks the Commission to present an own initiative proposal concerning illnesses neglected by the pharmaceutical industry (like bilharzia, Ebola or filariasis). The proposal should include incentives for developing medicines and vaccines for poverty-linked diseases for which there is no market.