Australia's Framework for Access to Essential Medicines: Patent Law, Public Health, and Pandemics

Investigating Australia's framework for access to essential medicines, this chapter explores the intersection between patent law, public health, and pandemics. This chapter looks at the judicial discussion of patent term extensions and the evergreening of pharmaceutical drugs. It considers the precedent of the Aktiebolaget Hasslev Alphapharm, with Kirby J’s notable dissent; the Arrowv.Merck case in the Federal Court of Australia; the conflict between Alphapharm and Lundbeck in the High Court of Australia; and the dispute between AstraZeneca and Apotex in the High Court of Australia. It also mentions in passing the High Court of Australia’s various decisions on the patentability of pharmaceutical drugs, methods of human treatment; and gene patents. This chapter examines the response of law reform bodies to the topic of patent law, pharmaceutical drugs, and access to medicines – including the work of the Australian Law Reform Commission in its gene patents inquiry; the concerns of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission about access to medicines; the 2013 Pharmaceutical Patents Review; and the Productivity Commission’s investigation of patent exceptions such as crown use and compulsory licensing, as well as its review of intellectual property arrangements. It also highlights the parallel developments in the United States – with the Biden Administration promising to take action in respect of drug monopolies. This chapter explores the impact of international trade law upon patent law and access to medicines in Australia. In particular, it charts the debate over the TRIPS Agreement 1994, the WTO General Council Decision 2003, the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 2004, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 2011, the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership 2018, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership 2021, and the TRIPS Waiver debate 2020-2022 during the coronav