Financial Times FT.com

MEPs ease access to generic drugs

By Andrew Bounds in Strasbourg

Published: October 25 2007 04:57 | Last updated: October 25 2007 04:57

More poor countries will gain access to cheap generic drugs to deal with epidemics after European lawmakers agreed to the ratification of a key world trade protocol, the European parliament said on Wednesday.

The European Union agreed to back full flexibility for poor countries to waive patents to deal with health emergencies such as HIV/Aids and malaria under a 2003 protocol to the trade-related intellectual property (Trips) agreement of the World Trade Organisation.

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