The pharmaceutical IP system works well in high-income countries able to afford government subsidies and social insurance. It does not work for the poor in low and middle-income countries. For global diseases (Types I and II), innovation is assured by high-income country markets alone,...

Drug prices are uniquely susceptible to radical price reductions through generic competition. Patented pharmaceuticals may be priced at more than 30 times the marginal cost of production; the excess is the patent rent collected by the drug company while the patent and exclusive marketing periods...

Penicillin and other antibiotics were the original wonder drugs and laid the foundation of the modern pharmaceutical industry. Human health significantly improved with the introduction of antibiotics. By 1967, the US Surgeon General declared victory over infectious diseases in the US. But pride...

The Australia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA), which entered into force on January 1, 2005, contains many remarkable provisions of interest to generic drug companies. The AUSFTA selectively exports U.S. generic drug laws of great import to generic drug manufacturers, and is uniquely intrusive...

One obstacle to the widespread rollout of compulsory licensure or greatly expanded access to essential pharmaceuticals is the fear that drugs intended for the poor will be diverted into high income markets, undermining pharmaceutical profits and ultimately, pharmaceutical R&D. In fact, this form...

While neoclassical economic theory suggests that arbitrage will undermine global differential pricing of pharmaceuticals, the empirical results are more complex. Pharmaceutical regulation, IP laws, global trade agreements, and company policies support differential pricing despite the pressure of...

On April 19, 2005, the US Senate HELP Committee held long-delayed hearings on importing cheaper foreign drugs (the Dorgan-Snowe bill, S.334). At the Hearing, Dean Arnold of Emory University School of Law challenged the Dorgan-Snowe bill as unconstitutional and contrary to international law. This...

The US government has embarked on a trade strategy to address alleged free riding by raising patented prescription drug prices abroad. This strategy is unwise and dangerous. It is likely to 'succeed' in low and middle income countries, desperate to sign a bilateral trade agreement with the US....

Is it morally permissible for financially privileged tourists to visit places for the purpose of experiencing where poor people live, work, and play? Tourism associated with this question is commonly referred to as 'poverty tourism.' While some poverty tourism is plausibly ethical, other...