From antiretrovirals for HIV to treatments for malaria and tuberculosis, access to affordable medicines has long been one of the defining public health challenges of our time. Yet in many low- and middle-income countries, life-saving drugs remain out of reach — not because of scientific limitations, but because of legal and economic barriers tied to global intellectual property systems.

Dr Olugbenga Olatunji, a specialist in intellectual property law and access to medicines at Sydney Law School, is tackling this problem through research that connects the complexities of global patent regimes with the realities of public health.

His current project examines how agreements such as the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS Agreement affect the ability of low- and middle-income countries to access or manufacture affordable generic medicines.

“Global patent laws are often designed by and for wealthy nations,” Dr Olatunji said.

“The danger is that they steadily erode the legal flexibilities that developing countries once used to protect public health.”

His research includes a case study on the East African Community (EAC), where inconsistent national patent laws weaken the region’s ability to act collectively.

While the EAC is working to build local pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity, gaps and contradictions in national legislation mean the bloc lacks the unified strength to fully exercise its rights under international law.

“At its core, this work is about rebalancing global rules so they protect both innovation and people,” Dr Olatunji said.

By analysing these dynamics, Dr Olatunji is developing a practical blueprint for how regional blocs like the EAC can harmonise their laws.

His approach shows how countries can strategically use existing legal flexibilities, such as compulsory licensing, to reduce dependence on aid and imports, and move towards what he calls “health sovereignty.”