Medicines Patent Pool Nets WHO’s Kieny As New Chair

Marie-Paule Kieny, fresh out of the World Health Organization, where she held the position of assistant director general for Health Systems and Innovation, will be the new chair of the Medicines Patent Pool, as of 1 September.

According to an MPP press release, the MPP Governance Board today announced the appointment of Kieny, a French national. She succeeds Sigrun Møgedal, special adviser to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and former ambassador for HIV/AIDS and Global Health Initiatives.

Kieny “will lead a nine-member board in guiding the foundation’s voluntary licensing and patent pooling work in HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis,” according to the release.

Kieny left the WHO on 30 June, completing a high-profile career as a clear-speaking expert in a range of issues including innovation, medicines pricing, and intellectual property. “I am pleased to lend a hand to the organisation during this crucial period in its history, a time when new public health mechanisms such as the MPP are desperately needed to address pressing access to medicines challenges,” she said in the release.