MOHAMMAD SALEEM^* & KARUN SANJAYA^**

^* ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, FACULTY OF LAW, SRM UNIVERSITY, SONEPAT, INDIA AND RESEARCH SCHOLAR, VIT SCHOOL OF LAW, VELLORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA.

^** ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, NAGPUR, A CONSTITUENT OF SYMBIOSIS INTERNATIONAL (DEEMED UNIVERSITY), PUNE, MAHARASHTRA AND RESEARCH SCHOLAR, VIT SCHOOL OF LAW, VELLORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA.

Abstract

Millions of individuals, mostly in third world nations, lack access to life-saving medications. There is limited evidence that intellectual property rights and patent protection systems have aided research, development, and innovation in third world nations. How can society safeguard public health from unrestrained private markets when trade and commerce rules supersede the human right to life-saving medications? Patent protection and access to life-saving drugs have been the highly debated issue amidst the wake of the novel coronavirus since 2020. The lack of access to life-saving drugs, on the one hand, and the interests of the drug manufacturers and financial agencies who believe patents could provide a decent return on investments have posed a considerable threat to the right to life of citizens across the globe. The imbalance between the lack of access to life-saving drugs and their patentability has posed a threat to humanity, especially to developing countries. Although the right to health has not been mentioned explicitly under the Constitution of India, yet Supreme Court, through a plethora of cases, have included the aspect of the right to health under the right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. 

In light of the above interplay, this paper seeks to look into how human rights could be protected by easy access to life-saving drugs for the citizens of a third-world country like India. Moreover, a plausible and amicable solution is sought through the study to maintain the production and distribution of those drugs for easy access to the people, taking into consideration the costs of those medicines as well.

Keywords: Life-saving drugs, patent protection, right to health, intellectual property, Indian Constitution.