Packed WHO Executive Board Agenda Highlights Need To Streamline Priorities 21/01/2013 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan today opened the 132nd meeting of the Executive Board, the UN agency’s highest authority, emphasising the importance of cost-effectiveness and results-driven operations at a time of global economic austerity and precarious funding.
US FTC Finds Sharp Rise In ‘Pay-For-Delay’ Deals Blocking Generics 18/01/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United States Federal Trade Commission, which keeps an eye out for anticompetitive behaviour, has issued a study finding that in 2012, a record number of deals were struck between brand-name and generic drug companies to keep the lower-priced generics off the market. Such deals, which arise from patent disputes, cost American consumers billions of dollars annually while piling on the federal deficit, it said.
Official Offers Reflections On WHO Reform, Private Sector Role 18/01/2013 by Tiphaine Nunzia Caulier for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In 2011, Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, launched a major reform of the United Nations organisation. This week, a presentation and discussions around the WHO reform by Gaudenz Silberschmidt, senior adviser in the WHO Office of the Director-General, highlighted the reason for this reform, its organisation and the possible impact the reform could have on the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the WHO.
Free Drugs Are “Crucial Part” Of Neglected Tropical Disease Fight 16/01/2013 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Health Organization reports that unprecedented progress has been made in addressing 17 parasitic diseases affecting the world’s poorest populations. The public health authority attributes the gains, in large part, to the contributions of global partners, including drug contributions made by research-based pharmaceutical giants.
IP-Watch Looks At The Year Ahead In International IP Policy 09/01/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment What will 2013 bring for international intellectual property and innovation policy? In the coming Intellectual Property Watch series for subscribers, our expert writers take a look at the top global policy issues and events in copyright, public health, legal battles, food security/biotech/biodiversity, trade, development, internet governance and more.
US Supreme Court Poised To Rule Human Genes Are Not Patentable 21/12/2012 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments For decades, the United States has pioneered the patenting of human genes, and other countries have followed this lead. But the US will soon perform an abrupt about-face, most experts predict. When the US Supreme Court hands down its decision in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, the justices appear likely to rule that human genes are not patentable subject matter. And the ruling may go even farther, holding that other forms of human DNA are not patentable.
WHO Members Agree On “Strategic Work Plan” On Health R&D – But No Convention 29/11/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments After three days and two nights of tough negotiations to address the global gap in research and development for neglected diseases at the World Health Organization, member states agreed to endorse a strategic work plan that includes proposals on the coordination, financing, and monitoring of R&D expenditures separately, but not to advance the idea of an overarching framework. The recommendation for a global R&D convention proved divisive to the very end of the negotiations.
WHO Negotiations To Address Medical R&D Global Gaps Head Deep Into Night 29/11/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Negotiations on the follow-up of the report of the expert group on research and development for neglected diseases tonight were continuing in a late-night session at the World Health Organization. At press time, member states were discussing options to address the research coordination, financing, and monitoring of medical R&D expenditures for the health needs of developing countries.
International Instrument On Medical R&D Still On Negotiating Table At WHO 28/11/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment World Health Organization member states gathering this week at the WHO headquarters in a meeting to address global gaps in the drug development system said that there is still much work to be done before consensus can be reached on a resolution. For now, the latest draft resolution keeps a wide range of monitoring, coordinating, and financing options on the table, not yet setting a clear direction.
UNITAID: Alternative Funding Mechanism For AIDS Drugs Saving Lives 27/11/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment UNITAID, an alternative funding mechanism for pharmaceuticals to the poor, said today that its work has helped develop new ways to treat children infected with HIV where there was previously little commercial incentive. The statement alongside the World AIDS Day announcement that the number of newly infected children continues to decline. UNITAID called for the international community to help children already living with the disease.