Cambodia is a least developed country (LDC); however, it may graduate from the LDC status by 2029 Membership in the World Trade Organisation, will require Cambodia to provide patent protection for medicines that meet standard criteria. This qualitative policy analysis examines Cambodia's readiness for LDC graduation in terms of protecting access to medicines and explores how it can prepare to mitigate the impact of graduation on access to medicines. The study employed a single case study design that included analysis of key informant interviews and documents retrieved from a targeted literature review and website scans. The Health Policy Triangle framework informed the research design, methods, data collection, and analysis. While Cambodia has established structures and processes to facilitate preparations for LDC graduation and engaged with UN agencies that support sustainable graduation, there has been little focus on the implications of graduation for access to medicines. To prepare for graduation Cambodia will need technical assistance to reform its patent-related laws and policies. This study demonstrates that LDCs are poorly equipped for the introduction of patent protection and agencies tasked with supporting LDC graduation need to provide assistance to protect access to medicines in countries planning graduation.
Policy Implications
- Cambodia should delay graduation until at least 2033 in order to make full use of the LDC TRIPS transition period.
- Cambodia should reform its IP laws and policies to ensure relevant TRIPS flexibilities are included, remove TRIPS-plus provisions, and renegotiate its WTO accession package to remove data exclusivity and patent linkage provisions.
- Countries in the LDC Group, especially those approaching graduation, should negotiate terms for graduation as a bloc (such as extensions to TRIPS transition periods and accession terms for LDCs to ensure they do not have to implement TRIPS-plus provisions).
- Cambodia and other LDCs can learn from countries that have designed their patent law in a way that balances access to medicines with TRIPS obligations such as India.
- Agencies with a mandate to support LDCs to prepare for graduation must provide technical assistance to prepare them for the loss of the TRIPS LDC transition period. If they do not possess this capacity, resources should be provided for LDCs to consult organisations that have this expertise.
Photo by Marija Veldic