Access to drugs: The India/Philippines solution?

Afro-IP has come across an article in The Times Of India, which comments on the effect of an amendment to the Philippines Intellectual Property Code which is expected to increase access to affordable medicines. The 'Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008' contains a provision similar to section 3(d) of India's patent law which restricts companies from obtaining patents in India for medicines that are not actual inventions, but slightly improved formulations of existing medicines.

According to the article, "the law seeks to prohibit the grant of new patents based only on newly-discovered uses of a known drug; allow early registration of generic versions of patented medicines prior to patent expiration; and allow government to use generic versions of patented drugs when public interest is at stake. The government will also have the power to impose price ceilings on essential drugs, and allow import of expensive drugs if it is found that another country is selling them at a lower price."