Essay Examines Access Issues Surrounding Medicines For NCDs In Developing Countries

In an essay published in PLOS Medicine, Thomas Bollyky, a senior fellow for global health, economics and development at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), examines “new controversy [emerging] over patented medicines [for non-communicable diseases (NCDs)] and their affordability in developing countries.” He notes, “India, China, and other middle-income countries have taken measures to circumvent patents on medicines for diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular and chronic respiratory illnesses — the [NCDs] increasing most rapidly in low- and middle-income countries,” and he writes, “Addressing this latest treatment-access crisis will require another transformation in global health [similar to that which took place surrounding HIV/AIDS], this time focusing on NCDs, low-cost interventions, and patient-centered strategies” (7/23).

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