The Political Economy of Pharmaceutical Production in Brazil

Abstract

Over the last two decades global pharmaceutical production has been shaped by a series of profound political, legal and economic changes.1 On the one hand, the rise of bulk pharmaceutical production in Asia and a wave of mergers and acquisitions throughout the 1990s (Kesic, 2009; Nolan, 2001) has resulted in sector concentration (Abbott and Dukes, 2009; ‘t Hoen, 2009). On the other hand, industry consolidation has been compounded by increasing standardization of intellectual property law. One hundred and fifty-three countries now adhere to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The Agreement’s standard for intellectual property rights (IPR) has been implemented in most developing countries, with significant implications for diffusion of innovation and the range of public health policy options available to local governments. As these global processes have been under way, nation-states have grappled with how to apply new international standards, create fair domestic regulatory frameworks that maintain sufficient levels of competition in the pharmaceutical sector, and ensure access to medicine for their citizens.