Interview With Charles Gore, Medicines Patent Pool Executive Director 22/03/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Charles Gore took over the role of Executive Director at the Medicines Patent Pool in July 2018, just after its board decided to greatly expand its mandate into essential medicines. Nine months into his term, IP-Watch’s William New talked with him about his role and how the expansion is going.
Will US Drug Pricing Politics Change Intimidation Practices Globally? 05/03/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Fifa Rahman writes: The global health world, particularly as concerns skyrocketing drug prices and patent abuse, is in a unique space in time. Recently, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has been carrying on as per usual. It has threatened the Malaysian and Colombian governments at numerous junctures to prevent them from issuing compulsory licences – a completely legal mechanism which the US uses regularly – to access generic hepatitis C drugs. The Trump Administration has sent delegations to global health agencies in Geneva to intimidate them into reducing, or hiding, work on TRIPS flexibilities and fairer drug pricing.
European Patent Office Report Compares Compulsory Licensing Practices By Country 01/03/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Patent Office has published a report detailing differences in the laws and procedures of European countries for the granting of compulsory licences.
Patents Under Debate As Pharma Executives Face US Senate Committee 27/02/2019 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Executives of seven large pharmaceutical companies faced questioning yesterday from the United States Senate Finance Committee over high drug prices in the US, especially compared with other developed countries. One issue that came under the microscope was patents.
New Research Study Describes DNDi As A “Commons” For Public Health 25/02/2019 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Since 2003, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) has worked to meet the public health needs of neglected populations by filling gaps in drug development left by the for-profit pharmaceutical industry. A new research study by the French Development Agency analysed DNDi’s unique product development partnership (PDP) model, and found that it “illustrate[s] what can be presented as a ‘commons’ within the area of public health.”
In Memoriam: Dilip Shah (1941-2019) 25/02/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Dilip Shah was passionately committed to the twin causes of promoting fair access to medicines around the world, and to the success of the local Indian pharmaceutical industry. A bright light is out, writes Prof. Frederick Abbott.
D G Shah, Founder Of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, Dies At Age 77: Economic Times 22/02/2019 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Dilip Shah, founder of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) the organisation that represented the interests of Indian drug makers passed away in Mumbai on Friday. He was 77. Known in the industry as “DG”, Mr Shah started the IPA when the Indian pharma companies were trying to find their feet in the global pharma landscape that was dominated by the multinational pharma companies predominantly based out of Europe and USA. Shah who himself spent most of his career with the MNC drug companies …
Faced With Unreasonable Medicines Prices, The Netherlands Introduces Pharmacy Exemption In Patent Law 22/02/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Ellen ‘t Hoen writes: On 1 February 2019, article 53(3), second sentence of the Dutch Patent Act 1995 came into force introducing a patent exemption for the preparation of medicines in a pharmacy.
WTO IP Council: Praise For Public-Private Partnerships, Use Of Competition Law To Fight High Drug Prices 18/02/2019 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment At the World Trade Organization Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) – which met on 13 February and finished in one day – discussions on IP and innovation, and IP and the public interest delineated points of views but also provided concrete examples of successful use of public-private partnerships, and use of competition law to prevent excessive pricing.
Agreement On SPC Manufacturing Waiver Reached, Benefitting EU Generic, Biosimilar Industry 14/02/2019 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Council reached a political agreement today on the SPC Manufacturing Waiver, which will allow the manufacture of generic and biosimilar medicines in the European Union for export and stockpiling during the period of extended patent protection provided for by the EU. This waiver will enable EU generic and biosimilar industries to benefit from sales outside the EU where patents have already expired, and to prepare to provide the EU market as soon as the extended period of patent protection ends.
