The politics behind the implementation of the WTO Paragraph 6 Decision in Canada to increase global drug access

Background The reform of pharmaceutical policy can often involve trade-offs between competing social and commercial goals. Canada's Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR), a legislative amendment that permits compulsory licensing for the production and export of medicines to developing countries, aimed to reconcile these goals. Since it was passed in 2004, only two orders of antiretroviral drugs, enough for 21,000 HIV/AIDS patients in Rwanda have been exported. Future use of the regime appears unlikely. This research aimed to examine the politics of CAMR.