Is Greece the landing beach for compulsory licensing in Europe?
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Activists calling for compulsory licenses to allow domestic manufacturers to undercut imported drug sales are nothing new: Brazil and India have them, and now they have compulsory licensing, too. As do other emerging market nations. But the latest call for governmental IP-snatching comes from Greece. This is a country that has a curious historical disdain for patents, precious little domestic pharma industry, drug shortages caused by price cutting and an immediate need to cull its drug bill. If a compulsory licensing advance party was going to land anywhere in the EU, Greece is a beachhead that is less hostile than most.