O sistema de patentes e os desafios para o acesso a medicamentos: uma perspectiva de direitos humanos.

Abstract

This Undergraduate Thesis focuses on analyzing the impact of the patent system on the right to health and the guarantee of access to medicines, addressing its implications for fundamental human rights. The research highlights that, although patents encourage scientific innovation led by the pharmaceutical industry, the patentability of medicines and the possibility of setting high prices due to research costs, while simultaneously prohibiting the manufacturing of generics as long as patents are in force, are contributing factors that create challenges to achieving universal and equitable access to health, as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. This amplifies inequalities and, consequently, causes real harm to human health, hindering its full realization. A qualitative methodological approach was adopted, based on bibliographic review and document analysis, examining national legislation and international agreements on trade and human rights matters. The results indicate the need for strengthening national and international policies that reconcile the protection of industrial property while prioritizing the guarantee of access to adequate and comprehensive treatment, essential for those that need them. Such measures aim to reduce barriers and ensure the effectiveness of the right to health for the general population.