Support for reform of the pharmaceutical patent laws

The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) has come out in support of Minister Motsoaledi and the DTI's call for reform on South African medicine patent laws, which are restricting access to affordable healthcare.

The BHF is encouraged by the strong stance taken by the Minister against pharmaceutical manufacturers wishing to strengthen the patent laws in South Africa and supports the DTI proposed policy on intellectual property.

"Of the R103 billion paid out to healthcare providers in 2012, R16.3 billion was paid out on medicines dispensed out of hospitals and a significant percentage of the R40 billion paid out to hospitals, for medicines supplied in-hospital. It is for this reason that BHF would like to see legislative reform that allows for lower single exit price for medicines, for more generics to be used and for the private sector to be able to access medicines at the state tender price," says Dr Humphrey Zokufa, MD of BHF.

The BHF calls for a review of all legislation that affects the realisation of affordable and accessible healthcare, as enshrined in Section 27 of the Constitution.