PATENT LAWS OBSTRUCT ACCESS to CHEAP GENERIC MEDICINE

On July 7th, an Indian court rejected a patent claim by drug-maker Novartis for a cancer drug it developed. The Indian court said that the drug was no unique enough to warrant its own patent, but the importance of this case is not the reasons for its outcome, but the impact the judgment has on the world’s supply of cheap, generic drugs.

The ICC’s WORTH

On June 11, Reuters reported that four aid agencies were allowed by Khartoum to reenter Sudan with new names and new logos. These aid agencies, along with nine others, had been expelled from the country by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir a day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest for various war crimes and crimes against humanity. This particular circumstance raises a very legitimate and difficult question concerning aid groups and international humanitarian law. It is often extremely challenging for international aid groups to decide whether or not to speak up against war crimes and crimes against humanity.