Give the poor patients a chance: enhancing access to essential medicines through compulsory licensing

The important relationship between pharmaceutical patents and problem of inaccessibility of medicines by the poor nations is exemplified more clearly by the experiences of developing countries in Asia. Thailand is one of a few developing countries with the most experience with the negative impact of stronger patent protection. The paper provides a general view of the problem of the inaccessibility of lifesaving medicines in Thailand. It also discusses the attempts of the Thai Government to use an available legal measure (i.e. compulsory licensing) to control the abuse of pharmaceutical patent rights, and provides a theoretical and practical analysis of various legal issues relating to the use of the non-voluntary licensing scheme to improve access to essential medicines