Pharmaceutical companies are accused of violating
health rights in Brazil
Pharmaceutical companies Roche (
The Working Group on
Intellectual Property (GTPI) of the Brazilian Network for the Integration of
the Peoples (REBRIP) will file a lawsuit before the Peoples' Permanent Tribunal
(PPT) against pharmaceutical companies Roche and Boehringer
Ingelheim, which they question for violating the
right to public health in
The signatory countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been
forced to adapt their domestic laws to recognize the patents on technology,
thus reducing the autonony of the states to legislate
in that field. This led to an increasing power of transnational
corporations of the sector – some of them accused before the PPT- and of their
influence on the implementation of public policies at a national level.
In the case of
Roche is a corporation with presence in 150 countries. The Brazilian
network is accusing the company of aiming to interfere in the national
legislation by means of legal actions.
In the case of Boehringer Ingelheim,
which has 137 subsidiaries in 47 countries, the company is questioned over the
violation of ethical standards in the research on human beings and for refusing
to ask the registration in
Exposing these corporate abuses is a way of exposing the threats
suffered by developing countries when the interests of corporations are not a
priority for the authorities. Also, raising awareness on these cases contributes
to the debate on intellectual property rights and the people's access to basic
medicines. For this reason the case is filed before the PPT.
Key issues: New
Constitutionalism and privatization of Justice
Denouncing organizations: Red Brasilera por la
Integración de los Pueblos
(REBRIP).