In a wide-ranging conversation, access to medicines advocate Tahir Amin explains how patent rules, neoliberal policy and corporate influence shape who gets lifesaving care.
Tahir Amin has spent years tracing a through line from patent law to pharmaceutical pricing to the question of who really holds power in both the U.S. and global economies. In this conversation, he explains how his path from private law practice to the access to medicines movement led him to a central conclusion: “I’m not practicing law, I’m practicing power.” We sat down to discuss how this power translates to the financial and physical health of Americans, and other themes from the new book he co-authored, Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines, which is out this week.