EU companies can export generic versions of patented drugs to poor countries

The European Union has adopted legislation that will allow companies to produce copies of patented medicines, under licence, for export to developing countries. The measures will allow poor nations that lack or have insufficient drug manufacturing capacity, to import safe and effective generic medicines.

The initiative follows the move last December by the Geneva based World Trade Organisation (WTO) to make permanent an earlier provisional waiver to the trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) agreement.

This amends the existing rules on intellectual property, which state that compulsory licences can only be …