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All countries belonging to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) have agreed to consider refusing to recognize any patent on a drug made from natural products found in Africa — unless it acknowledges the ‘ownership’ and contribution of the relevant community to the new product.

A model bill produced by an OAU committee states that ownership of new compounds should rest with indigenous local communities for “all times and in perpetuity”.

It calls for states to develop laws guaranteeing such ownership. It also calls on collectors of natural products to share information with governments on “all discoveries” from research and development.

The draft bill was drawn up to harmonize African legislation on ‘bioprospecting’ by multinationals.

It was done partly to challenge the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and partly to clamp down on the smuggling of medicinal plants.

The wording was finalized at a meeting of the OAU's scientific, technical and research commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last week. It will now be circulated among the OAU's 53 member states for comment before being presented as model legislation for African states.

The OAU believes that the TRIPs agreement violates the United Nations Biodiversity Convention, which makes the “approval and involvement” of indigenous peoples a condition of developing a product based on a natural compound. According to the OAU, the TRIPs agreement makes no such provision.

Johnson Ekpere, the commission's executive secretary, says African countries want to bring TRIPinto line with the biodiversity convention.

But the draft will be controversial.

Some African states, such as Nigeria and Tanzania, are keen to attract overseas bioprospecting partners. They may be unwilling to pass legislation that could scare them away.