ABSTRACT
The tension between the business case for protecting intellectual property rights (IPRs) and ensuring universal access to essential medicines is a long-standing issue in pharmaceutical policy, particularly in relation to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. The potential impact of trade on health outcomes is a research area that has gained considerable interest from both policy makers and researchers. As is well known, the TRIPS Agreement demands global minimum standards for the protection of patents and for remedies for the effective enforcement of these IPRs for any country that is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
