UN Member States Briefed On Innovation And Access To Health Technologies 14/03/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW YORK — A major event on innovation and access to health technologies took place at the United Nations in New York last week, in which UN member states were briefed on ideas and efforts to promote these issues at the forefront of global health policy.
Sir John Sulston, Human Genome Project Leader, Remembered For Words On IP And Health R&D 14/03/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Nobel Prize winner Sir John Sulston passed away on 6 March at the age of 75, and was widely remembered in the press and scientific circles, celebrating his research, his wisdom, and his leadership of the landmark Human Genome Project. Intellectual Property Watch recalls his visionary warning and advice a decade ago about the intellectual property system, investment, and science that is still valuable today.
US Copyright Royalty Board Boosts Songwriters’ Streaming Pay Nearly 50% 14/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Variety reports: The [US] Copyright Royalty Board has ruled to increase songwriter rates for interactive streaming by nearly 50% over the next five years, in a ruling issued early Saturday. Equally important, the CRB simplified and strengthened the manner in which songwriters are paid mechanical royalties, modifying terms in a way that offers a foothold in the free-market.
WHO: Access To Hepatitis C Treatment Increasing, But Most Patients Undiagnosed 13/03/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Access to hepatitis C treatments is increasing, so are therapeutic options, but most of those living with the disease are not diagnosed and thus remain untreated, the World Health Organization found in a new report. Upper-middle income and high-income countries continue to pay high prices, impeding equitable access, and those countries which have been most successful in increasing access have mobilised a strong government response, the report found.
New IP-Sharing Framework To Accelerate R&D 12/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Pharmaceutical R&D constantly leads to the generation of new intellectual property (IP), from clinical trial data to libraries of promising compounds. Not all IP assets generated by a company are used in their future R&D. When this happens, companies can choose instead to share them with other third-party researchers, under licensing agreements. The Access to Medicine Foundation has worked with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) to develop a framework for identifying which IP assets are most difficult for companies to share, yet most likely to speed up R&D of the medicines and vaccines needed by people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), write Clarke B. Cole and Katie Graef.
Investor Protection Clauses In Bilateral Trade Agreements Take A Hit In EU 06/03/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Investor protection clauses in bilateral trade agreements between European Union member states were declared incompatible with EU law in a judgment by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg today.
Pharma, Nonprofits Collaborate On Affordable Hepatitis C Treatment In Latin America 06/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Drugs for Neglected Disease initiative (DNDi), a nonprofit research and development organisation, today announced a collaboration with pharmaceutical companies and other nonprofits to manufacture and supply a “new, more affordable” hepatitis C treatment in Latin America. Hepatitis C medicines have been renowned for their high prices worldwide.
A Look At The Role Of Governments, Universities, Science In Health Innovation & Access 05/03/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual property rights, particularly patents, are considered by some as being a barrier in access to medicines despite being a stimulus for innovation. At a recent symposium co-organised by the World Health Organization, World Trade Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization, speakers also talked about the role of science, governments, and universities in health innovation and access, and how to address challenges such as secondary patents.
WHO Joint Tropical Disease Program Issues Report On Research Fairness 02/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organisation’s Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) has published the first report on research fairness under a new initiative. The report includes an analysis of how TDR manages intellectual property rights in a positive way.
Medicines Vastly Overpriced, Generics Too: Discussion At WTO-WIPO-WHO Symposium 02/03/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The price of hepatitis C medicine marked a turning point in the discussion on access to medicines, with developed countries suddenly confronted to prices they could not afford. This week, a symposium jointly organised by the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the World Intellectual Property Organization explored the question of the pricing of medicines. A number of suggestions were made to alleviate the issue, such as ensuring wide use of generic medicines, encouraging competition, and alerting countries about the cost of medicine production so they negotiate better with pharmaceutical companies.