United States Is Center of Debate over Global Health, Drug Patents.

Byline: Lewis Krauskopf

Dec. 30--Global talks about ensuring access to medicines in poor countries will start anew in 2003 after ending the year on a divisive note.

More than a year after an international agreement appeared to boost the ability of poor nations to obtain key drugs for public health epidemics, the situation muddied at World Trade Organization talks this month.

The United States wants to limit medicines for which patents can be ignored, leading to criticism from advocacy groups that the United States is impeding the progress made last year.

"What this shows us is that there has to be a real question about the promise the U.S. and other countries made [at the trade talks in November 2001] to address the whole entire issue," said Rachel Cohen, a spokeswoman for …