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WTO makes progress on drug-patents rift

Trade negotiators have narrowed differences on how to reconcile protection for rich countries' patents on medicines with poor countries' demands for access to cheap drugs to tackle epidemics such as AIDS, a senior US official said on Monday.

Disputes between the world's haves and have-nots have peppered every discussion at the meeting, which began last Friday.

But after a weekend that saw China, the world's most populous nation, and rival Taiwan brought into the global trading club, officials began expressing cautious optimism that a pact could be agreed in Doha.

"Everyone can see the outline of an agreement," said British Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt.

The issue of patents -- known as Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS in WTO jargon -- has bitterly divided developed and developing countries.

WTO officials see resolving it as essential to correcting the image that freer trade favours the rich over the poor.

Developing countries, led by Brazil and India, are seeking a waiver on public health grounds of rules that guarantee 20-year patents on medicines.

They say they cannot afford the costly drugs needed to treat millions suffering from diseases such as AIDS and malaria, and must be able to make or import cheap generic versions without fear of litigation from drug companies or the WTO.

Led by the United States, industrialised countries are reluctant to provide a waiver, fearing its impact on other patents and a threat to the $300 billion-a-year drugs industry.

One US official reported a "better sense of convergence" on the crucial issue but a Eurpean envoy said he doubted there would be a deal until the last minute. "We're not out of the woods yet," he said.

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