Access to COVID-19 treatment, international intellectual property protection and Nigerian bilateral investment treaties: patent protection and compulsory licencing

Leading public health experts suggest that we will still continue to live in some form of public distancing rules until we have advanced an effective treatment for Covid 19.[1] Given that the serious economic hardship[2]and social cost[3] of measures taken to stop the spread of Covid 19 could have upsetting consequences for Nigerians, one can appreciate the significance of developing effective medicine for Covid 19 treatment as soon as possible. Due to the full onslaught of Covid 19 globally, it is not surprising that publicly funded projects,[4] private-public partnership[5] and pharmaceutical industries[6] are making efforts to develop an effective treatment. The key question is whether Nigerians will be able to access medicines for Covid 19 treatment once treatments have been developed. Under international law and international investment treaties, this is primarily a matter for intellectual property (IP) protection for such treatments.

This post explains options for Nigerian government to facilitate access to Covid 19 treatment under WTO TRIPS Agreement and Nigerian bilateral investment treaties (BITs), taking into account commitments for IP protection under TRIPS Agreement and Nigerian BITs. In the first part, it considers obligations under TRIPS Agreement that offer patent protection for existing and future Covid 19 treatment, and how that is likely to affect access to affordable Covid 19 treatment in Nigeria. The second part considers obligations under Nigerian bilateral investment treaties (BITs) that offer patent protection for Covid 19 treatment, and how they affect access to affordable medicine for Covid 19 treatment.