Brussels, 12/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - During its vote on the report by Belgian Liberal Johan Van Hecke (VLD),the European Parliament's committee on international trade took a stance in favour of an open compulsory licence system in order to improve access to medicines everywhere in developing countries. The report, which was adopted unanimously barring a few abstentions on Tuesday by the parliamentary committee, comes within the framework of the first reading according to codecision procedure on the proposal for a regulation establishing a Community system of compulsory licences for pharmaceutical products to be exported to developing countries, in line with the agreement reached in this field at the WTO. It has still to be approved in plenary.
Following its rapporteur, the parliamentary committee amended several provisions of the European Commission's proposal which restricted the scope of compulsory licences to the member nations of the World Trade Organisation that “have public health problems”. Replacing the notion of WTO “member nation” by that of “admissible importer country”, MEPs hoped to open the system to all the developing and least advanced countries whether or not they belong to the WTO. They also did away with the reference to the existence of public health problems that could appear as an additional condition likely to give rise to different interpretations. With the adoption of an amendment by Dutch Christian Democrat Maria Martens and British Conservative Robert Sturdy, MEPs also wished to give the possibility to NGOs, the United Nations organisation and other international health organisations to intervene on behalf of one or several importer countries seeking a producer and seeking to import pharmaceutical products into importer countries.
Various technical amendments include abolition of the possibility that the Commission text offered to the relevant national authorities to introduce additional requirements, as well as abolition of certain obligations for the right-holder (register, proof of exportation, etc.) that the MEPs considered a deterrent for producers - generally generic medicine producers - who are called upon to take part in the system. Those requesting a licence must have presented a request to the patent holder and not have received a favourable response within one month before having to make a request for a compulsory licence from the relevant authority. The patent holder should be consulted by the relevant authority before the compulsory licence is issued. The person making the request would be informed by the relevant authority within 14 days (Martens and Sturdy amendment).