WTO Members are involved in an open re-regulatory process to facilitate pro-health pharmaceutical policies in the developing world since the launch of the Doha Development Round and its historical Declaration on public health and access to medicines (2001). However, solutions such as its member-driven mechanism of the 2003 Decision (designed to facilitate access to generics in countries that lack manufacturing capacity) are basically ineffective. Alternatively, market-driven multilateral solutions are to be explored. The multilateral trading system could make a critical contribution to facilitate access to affordable generic medicines in developing countries by concentrating on what it does best, namely promoting global trade in generics, and thus generics market formation on a global scale.
Journal of World Trade