Provisions of patent drugs for easy access of essential drugs in Indonesia (draft)

Abstract

Universal Declaration of Human Rights and several international treaties stipulate that health is a basic human right. Drugs are important components of health. TRIPS set minimum standards of IPR rules that must be obeyed by all WTO members. It regulates the obligation of providing protection for the invention in the field of medicines. Indonesia fulfilled that obligation by replacing stipulation in former Patent Law of 1989 that excluded drugs from patent protection. The regulation of drug patents followed by the implementation of strict mandatory licensing raised the problems of access to essential drugs such as anti retroviral in poor African countries. This situation lead WTO issued a declaration called Doha Declaration which stipulated some rules that could make access to essential patent medicines becomes easier. Indonesia responded the contents of the WTO declaration by enacting government regulations on licensing procedures for essential drugs. Then, in the current patent law that replaced the former patent law of 2001 regulated several articles on drug patents. Some stipulations in the new patent law inter alias: no patent protections for second medical; easier compulsory licensing procedures for the implementation of compulsory licenses for import or export of essential medicines; longer time for producing drugs in the frame of Bolar provision and confirmation of the absence of criminal and civil sanctions against the implementation of the Bolar provision. The contents of the provisions show that Indonesia is normatively more concerned about access to health for the community. On the other hand it should be understood that easy access to essential drugs is not a single factor in obtaining justice against access to drugs for the community. Other factors that are not less important and must be addressed are the problems of counterfeit drugs and the price of expensive drugs in Indonesia.