State Regulation of Intellectual Property Rights during an Epidemic: A Case Study of ARV Medicines in Russia

Russian public health is compromised by one of the largest HIV epidemics in the world. One of the thresholds in combatting the epidemic is its considerably low treatment coverage rate, as evidently no epidemic is to halt without necessary treatment of those infected. This study connects treatment coverage to state regulation of intellectual property rights in light of patented antiretroviral medicines to treat HIV. As such this paper examines the tradeoff between innovation and dissemination of technology, a debate inherent to the patent system. This linkage has previously been examined by scholars with regards to HIV epidemics, though the Russian case remains underrepresented. Particularly Russia’s policy response to withhold from utilizing policy tools designed to tackle epidemics, despite being eligible to use them is discounted in the literature. This paper further contributes to the debate on the proper strength of pharmaceutical patent protection in light of the affordability of antiretroviral medicines, by analyzing the (inter)national prevalent intellectual property regime of the Russian antiretroviral medicine market while considering policy alternatives. The latter, alongside the analysis of other countries’ experiences, suggest that applying the policy tool of compulsory licensing to restrict the rights of patent holders, increases the treatment coverage rate and supports Russia’s combat against the epidemic.