Repurposed medicines and Compulsory licensing
- July 22, 2020
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Subject: Science and tech
Context:
Repurposed drugs are used in COVID treatment.
Concept:
- Drug repurposing, also known as drug repositioning, is a drug development strategy predicated on the reuse of existing licensed drugs for new medical indications
Compulsory licensing and section 92
- Compulsory licensing is when a government allows someone else to produce a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner or plans to use the patent-protected invention itself.
- It is one of the flexibilities in the field of patent protection included in the WTO’s agreement on intellectual property — the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement.
- Indian law permits the government to issue a compulsory licence in certain circumstances of a public health crisis under Section 92 of the Indian Patents Act. This would allow third parties to manufacture a patented drug without permission of the patent holder.