World Health Assembly Concludes With Actions On Range Of Issues 27/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The 68th World Health Assembly (WHA), which took place from 18-26 May, was characterised as one of the most successful annual assemblies ever by Margaret Chan, World Health Organization director general. From the standpoint of intellectual property, access and innovation, this may be debatable. Below is a guide to the main accomplishments highlighted by Intellectual Property Watch. These include: action plans to fight antibiotic resistance and to boost vaccinations, extension of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPA), incremental progress on alternative research and development for neglected diseases, status of the pandemic influenza preparedness framework, response to emergencies like Ebola, and WHO’s relationship with lobbyists and donors.
WHA 68: Experts Discuss Delinking R&D Costs From Pricing To Make Medicines Affordable 25/05/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The problem of drug prices eating up national health budgets has been coming up at the annual World Health Assembly. Last week, a panel of experts discussed the merits of lowering those prices by delinking research and development costs from pricing.
WHO Advances R&D Financing Effort; Global R&D Observatory To Launch In January 24/05/2015 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments World Health Organization members in committee this week took note of a report by the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG), which was set up to find ways to fund research on diseases afflicting poor populations which have little market incentive for the private sector. The report included a proposal for a voluntary pooled fund that would focus on the development of effective and affordable health technologies for such neglected diseases.
Two UN Agencies Come Out In Support Of Extension Of TRIPS LDC Waiver 22/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The United Nations Development Programme and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS have issued a joint statement supporting a request by least-developed countries to extend a waiver allowing them to abstain from enforcing patents on pharmaceutical products.
New Act Protecting Geographical Indications Adopted At WIPO 20/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Today, a small number of World Intellectual Property Organization members adopted a new Geneva Act of a treaty protecting appellations of origin and geographical indications. The Act is the revision of a previous treaty which only covered appellations of origin. This adoption was made to the dismay of other WIPO members, which despite efforts to accommodate their views could not reconcile being denied the right to vote in a United Nations body. They said the agreement among a few members could affect all.
WHA68: Global Vaccine Plan Lagging; New Proposal To Lower Prices 19/05/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments An assessment of the World Health Organization Global Vaccine Action Plan aimed at delivering vaccination to all and boosting research into new vaccines found implementation to be “far off-track” in some areas. Today at the World Health Assembly, Libya put forward a new proposal at the Assembly to reduce vaccine prices and increase availability in developing countries.
World Health Assembly Opens: Time Of Change At WHO; G-7 Involved 18/05/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments “The Ebola outbreak shook this organization to its core,” World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan said in opening the WHO’s annual assembly today. And the need to better construct the world’s emergency response systems has the biggest economies on the podium, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaking as chair of the Group of 7.
France, Italy, Heavyweights Of Lisbon Appellations Of Origin System; Africa Struggling 16/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A small number of World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are negotiating to expand a treaty to protect geographical indications, products like Champagne. Under the old treaty, which protects appellations of origin, over half of the registrations are in France, and another large amount in Italy. According to an analysis, many of the 28 members of the treaty have zero or very few registrations, raising the question of how the new GI protection will be different if agreed.
WHO Leads Effort To Build R&D Roadmap For Future Epidemics 15/05/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organization is working to learn from the fast response on research and development for Ebola that led to effective treatments in a short time. It hopes that this changes the way R&D for emergency vaccines is done forever.
Industry Asks For Clarity On LDC Request To Extend TRIPS Pharma Waiver 01/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Least developed countries (LDCs) at the World Trade Organization have requested that a waiver allowing them to not enforce intellectual property rights on pharmaceutical products be extended beyond its deadline of 1 January 2016. The brand pharmaceutical industry this week stated that it supports access to medicines for LDCs but does not see the need for this extension as LDCs already benefit from a WTO waiver on all products until 2021.