UNCTAD: Developing Countries Have Opportunity to Attract Pharma Investment

A report says the poorest countries in the world have an unprecedented opportunity to attract investment in the pharmaceutical sector.

A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicated the poorest countries in the world have an unprecedented opportunity to attract investment in the pharmaceutical sector.

The study stressed how large research and development-based global pharmaceutical companies facing the expiration of blockbuster drug patents are entering into partnerships with profitable generic manufacturers in developing countries as a survival strategy. And it said UN-classified least developed countries (LDCs) could benefit from this.

UNCTAD said its confidence in establishing plants in these countries had been boosted by the fact that developing countries must now also offer product patent protection under the World Trade Organisation Trade-Rel