From Molecule to Monopoly: The Geopolitics of Patents and Medicinal Access

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-555-3_12How to use a DOI?

Keywords

patent politics; human rights; medicine; geopolitics

Abstract

The article aims to examine and address the various concerns arising from patent politics around the globe and how these are contributing to despair, thereby hampering basic human rights. In this era of scientific advancement & innovation, patents are key to uplifting these advancements. The patent is a protective right that also incentivizes future development, but when patent system regulations are disregarded due to the political and economic hegemony of developed nations over developing nations, third-world countries are primarily concerned about access to medicine. The US retaliatory positioning over labelling it has IP protection by issuing US 301 special report, bilateral trade agreements between states like TTP (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement), CTTP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement), USCMA (US-Canada-Mexico Agreement), and their repercussions can be seen through enforcement of ISDS, Investor State Dispute Settlement and the repercussions is evidentiary in Elli lily v. Canadian government case and another example Phillips Morris v. government of Australia and the Big pharma role in pharmaceutical ethics and greedy pricing policies of the essential medicines.

Why are there no changes in the patent system for accessing essential medicines, following orthodox rules of the patent system, like compulsory licensing is only seen rather than any new methodology.

Ultimately, the findings would likely suggest that global power dynamics in patent politics constitute a form of modern economic warfare, posing ethical and humanitarian concerns. By providing recommendations, this paper aims to stimulate policy reforms that balance economic interests with the urgent need to safeguard public health and uphold human rights, envisioning a revised patent system that enables equitable access to medicines without overshadowing the protective and incentivizing role of patents.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Subhasha S
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/13
TI  - From Molecule to Monopoly: The Geopolitics of Patents and Medicinal Access
BT  - Proceeding of The Future of Life - Legal, Scientific, and Geopolitical Challenges (TFOL2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 176
EP  - 190
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-555-3_12
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-555-3_12
ID  - 2026
ER  -