Geneva - The humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres on Tuesday decried rising drug costs for poor countries, five years after a historic declaration enabled developing nations to override patents and copy expensive Western drugs.
The group, also known by its English name Doctors Without Borders, said a decision by the World Trade Organisation in 2001 to allow countries greater flexibility when facing public health crises has helped significantly with some drugs for diseases such as HIV/Aids, for which first-line medications have dropped in price by 99% since 2000.

However, MSF said newer Aids drugs and other treatments are still too expensive for poorer countries. It feels that it is time that WTO rules - outlined five years ago in the Qatari capital of Doha for the export of generic drugs - be used.

"We're seeing many countries make use of the Doha Declaration to import medicines, but what is the use if soon there are no generics to buy?" asked Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer, who heads the MSF's campaign for better medicine access.

"If this doesn't happen we'll be back where we started in no time because treatment will become unaffordable again."

Under World Trade Organisation rules, countries can issue so-called "compulsory licenses" to disregard patent rights, but only after negotiating with the patent owners and paying them adequate compensation. If they declare a public health emergency, governments can skip the negotiating.

Although the measure is viewed as an option for poor countries also facing the threat of a flu pandemic, critics say that the complicated procedure to export such drugs has put off generic manufacturers.

While the WTO rules are clear on what is allowed, countries are often dissuaded from breaking patents because it is still a sensitive political issue, especially in countries home to large pharmaceutical industries, MSF has said.