Creating R&D Incentives for Medicines for Neglected Diseases

This book is the revised version of a doctoral thesis written at the Graduiertenkolleg Law and Economics at Hamburg University. It addresses the market failure with respect to R&D for medicines for tropical diseases and the lack of access to affordable medicines in poor countries. Tropical diseases, such as malaria or leishmaniasis, are among the main causes of death and disability in developing countries. Medical scholars have since long argued that medicines for those neglected infectious diseases either do not exist at all or badly need improvement. This neglect has two main reasons. First, tropical diseases virtually do not occur in the rich countries of the Northern Hemisphere where the bulk of new pharmaceutical inventions are made. Second, intellectual property protection in poor countries of the Southern Hemisphere, i. e. patents or copyrights, is often poorly developed. The innovator faces the risk of losing research and development (R&D) costs as imitators can offer generic drugs at marginal costs. Therefore, not much research is targeted at developing medicines for tropical diseases as the expected market returns from R&D in the private pharmaceuticals sector are too low. Frank Müller-Langer provides a well-researched outline of the legal landscape regarding international patent protection. He focuses on the relevant provisions stated in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), which is aimed at harmonizing and strengthening intellectual property protection around the world.