Participants in the international debate on patents and pharmaceuticals have begun exploring two distinct sets of TRIPScompliant options/mechanisms that would enable patients in the developing world to access new treatments at affordable costs. The first set relates primarily to 'global' ailments, where R and D is already supported by the north, and includes options such as compulsory licensing, 'tiered' pricing and national drug price regulations. The second set of mechanisms is aimed at 'creating markets' for treatments relating to poor country-specific ailments in a manner that allows affordability without endangering incentives to future research and innovation.
