What is MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières – Doctors Without Borders)

There is currently a wide-ranging debate on whether it is ethical for pharmaceutical companies to profit and obtain large economic benefits by patenting and controlling the sale of essential medicines that can save thousands of lives, or, on the contrary, whether these medicines should be considered social products and offered at low prices so that anyone, in any country in the world, regardless of their purchasing power, can have access to them. This debate has intensified since health was considered a fundamental human right by the World Health Organization (WHO) and was expressly included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations (specifically, in Goal 3: “Health and Well-Being”). Consequently, the overall objective of this chapter is to reflect on these questions: Should economic interests prevail over social ones in the case of essential life-saving medicines? Should the fundamental right to health prevail over the right granted by a patent? How far should corporate social responsibility (CSR) go in the pharmaceutical industry?