Subject category:
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Published by:
INSEAD
Version: October 2003
Length: 24 pages
Data source: Field research
Notes: To maximise their effectiveness, colour items should be printed in colour.
Abstract
The objective of this teaching case is to place students in the complex moral and legal environment of AIDS in South Africa. During the 1990s, South Africa, along with many other developing countries, agreed to accept World Trade Organisation disciplines with respect to trade in intellectual property - the so-called TRIPS agreement. In 1997, however, the South African Government passed a new Medicines Act, which a group of pharmaceutical companies argued was in violation of South African patent laws and of the TRIPS accord. The lawsuit was quickly attacked by such leading non-governmental organisations as Oxfam. This case forces students to address pharmaceutical company policy in the face of the AIDS pandemic.
About
Abstract
The objective of this teaching case is to place students in the complex moral and legal environment of AIDS in South Africa. During the 1990s, South Africa, along with many other developing countries, agreed to accept World Trade Organisation disciplines with respect to trade in intellectual property - the so-called TRIPS agreement. In 1997, however, the South African Government passed a new Medicines Act, which a group of pharmaceutical companies argued was in violation of South African patent laws and of the TRIPS accord. The lawsuit was quickly attacked by such leading non-governmental organisations as Oxfam. This case forces students to address pharmaceutical company policy in the face of the AIDS pandemic.