Patent evergreening: technological advancement and abusive commercial practices. Availability of essential medicine in the case of access to insulin

Abstract

The article analyses problems caused by patent evergreening in the pharmaceutical industry, with a particular focus on access to insulin. It points out how abusive commercial practices prevent the most vulnerable to benefit from scientific developments of the modern world and evidence-based medicine. This article does not only examine crucial legal aspects, such as a coexistence of fundamental human rights and the TRIPS Agreement, but also considers the impact of the patent system’s procedural norms. Finally, the article argues how secondary patenting prevents the harmonisation of public interest and the enforcement of private rights, where safeguarding equal access to essential medicine is required.