Amendment To The Polish Reimbursement Act For Medical Devices: Challenges For The Market 10/03/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Polish Ministry of Health has commenced consultations on an amendment to the act on reimbursements for drugs, foods intended for particular nutritional uses and medical devices. This bill envisions an entirely new system of refunds (full and partial), fixed maximum prices and fixed maximum margins for medical devices based partly on HTA, similar to the system currently in place for pharmaceuticals. The current wording leads one to believe that gradually all groups of medical devices could be introduced into this system. If the amendment is passed in the current shape, it has the potential to transform the medical devices market in Poland.
UN High-Level Panel On Access To Medicines Takes Next Step At Human Rights Council 09/03/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United Nations Human Rights Council held a panel discussion yesterday to exchange views on good practices and key challenges relevant to access to medicines. The panel gave a large part of the discussion to the recent report of the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, much to the chagrin of the European Union and the United States.
EC Copyright Reform Proposal Encounters Resistance In European Parliament 09/03/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment European Commission plans to modernise copyright rules have run into opposition in European Parliament committees, with lawmakers particularly pushing back against the proposal for a publishers’ right to licence snippets of news content.
Workshop: How To Tackle The High Cost Of Prescription Drugs In The US 09/03/2017 by Kim Treanor for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A recent workshop held on the doorstep of policymakers in the United States drew speakers from academic and activist circles to examine the mechanisms in US law which could help lead to lower prescription drug prices.
Paint Medical Patents Green Or Improve Efficacy 08/03/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Danny Friedmann writes: When the holder of a medical patent finds herself on the patent cliff, staring into the abyss of a patentless and incomeless future, she will become very ingenious in applying for new uses, new pathways of delivery and new doses of the known substance. Painting a new layer of green over the patent that must give the impression of a new invention. It is the duty of the legislator to limit this kind of behavior if it stifles access to generic medicines. How can the interests of patent holders and patients be reconciled?
Revelations Illustrate Aggressive CIA Hacking, Sloppy Security Of Smart Services 08/03/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Thought about buying a smart phone, smart TV, smart car? – think twice. Wikileaks today (7 March) released over 8,000 documents illustrating hacking activities of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA. In what has been described by some commentators as a bigger leak than the Snowden revelations about the National Security Agency in 2013, the whistleblower platform allowed a glimpse into the CIA hacking into smart TVs and smartphones and presented a list of zero day vulnerabilities found, bought and sometimes shared with colleagues in other agencies, including British colleagues. Wikileaks announced that today’s leak was the “Year Zero” tranche of the much bigger “Vault 7” project: more redacted details from the documents and much more documents will be published.
Main Recommendations Of UN High-Level Panel On Access To Medicines Presented At WTO 07/03/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An event held at the World Trade Organization last week walked through key recommendations of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, including strategies for moving some of them forward.
WHO Director General Candidates Showcase Campaigns To The World 07/03/2017 by Peter Kenny for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments It has been a gruelling campaign for the three final candidates for the post of director general of the World Health Organization and their latest public foray was dubbed a “moderated discussion.”
EPO Sees Highest Patent Filings Ever; Chinese Applications Still Rising 07/03/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Patent Office published its 2016 annual report today, showing an “unprecedented level of patent filings,” and underlining the growing number of patent applications from China. The top technical fields for applications included medical technology, digital communication, and pharmaceuticals.
Legal Swords Sharpened In Kenya-Manchester Cancer Drug Rights Dispute 07/03/2017 by Maina Waruru for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NAIROBI, Kenya — A dispute between Kenyan researchers and the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, over ownership of a cancer discovered after successful clinical trials in Kenya finally seems headed to courts.