Business and the Right to Health: Ensuring Access to Essential Medicines in the Context of Harmful Pricing Practices by Pharmaceutical Companies

Millions of people die each year due to a lack of access to medicines. Contributing to this crisis, pharmaceutical companies often raise the prices of medicines beyond affordability. Pricing is a core factor for access at an individual and national level. The right to access medicines is well established as a component of the right to health under international human rights law. However, scholarship has scarcely considered the intersection of access to medicines and pricing. This thesis investigates how access to medicines can be protected in the context of harmful pricing practices by pharmaceutical companies. It considers the nature of harmful pricing practices and examines the role of states and pharmaceutical companies in respecting and protecting this right. Employing a socio-legal methodology, I use a blended approach to research methods. I draw on comparative, qualitative, and doctrinal methods to examine the legal, social and ethical frameworks surrounding state obligations and corporate responsibilities. Part One of my thesis establishes the legal framework surrounding access to medicines in the context of harmful pricing. Part Two and Part Three then address the obligations and responsibilities of States and Pharmaceutical companies respectively, exploring tools and mechanisms to protect access to medicines. Harmful pricing practices significantly impact access medicines at an individual and systemic level. As the primary obligation holders, States must use the maximum of available resources to protect against harmful pricing practices and ensure access to medicines. Pharmaceutical companies have responsibilities to respect, and at times fulfil, the right to health. Companies demonstrate an understanding of these responsibilities, yet harmful practices persist. The role of the state therefore remains central. A significant number of tools are available for states and corporations to protect access to medicines. It is critical these are employed to the maximum extent to ensure access to medicines is protected.