Broad Plan On IP, Innovation In Developing Countries Approved At WHO 22/05/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Applause broke out at the annual World Health Assembly Friday as agreement was reached at the end of a five-year process to devise a plan for boosting research and development on and access to drugs needed by developing countries. Now with the full assembly’s approval, the focus will turn to implementation and as-yet unclear ways to pay for it.
WHO Members Near Deal On IP, Innovation And Public Health, With Key Question 21/05/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Some five years after setting a mandate to address barriers faced by poor countries in accessing needed medicines, World Health Organization members are near agreement on a strategy and plan of action. But a key question remains on WHO involvement in a possible treaty on biomedical research and development for diseases disproportionately affecting developing nations, and the WHO secretariat is facing accusations that the process has not been amply inclusive.
Pandemic Flu A Top Focus Of Health Assembly, But IP Issues Unresolved 19/05/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As the world looks to the World Health Assembly for a plan of action in case of pandemic, delegates are negotiating remaining parts of a framework for pandemic influenza preparedness, and an associated model agreement for the movement of virus and vaccine-related materials. A procedural agreement might come as early as Tuesday afternoon, but it remains to be seen whether agreement can be reached on how to handle uncompleted work.
WHO Members Fail To Finish Pandemic Flu Preparations 18/05/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A series of meetings intended to set out a global framework for dealing with a potential pandemic completed its last session Saturday night with progress made but several essential issues still uncompleted.
World Health Assembly Takes On R&D, Pandemics, Not Counterfeits 18/05/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The annual World Health Assembly kicks off Monday with key issues of intellectual property and public health on the agenda, but the plan to end the assembly early this year in the face of the pandemic influenza crisis has trimmed talks on counterfeit medicines from the meeting, according to official sources.
Experts Aim To Balance Intellectual Property Rights And Human Rights 15/05/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch and James Leonard for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United Nations human rights framework is being brought to bear on intellectual property law, in the hopes that the weight of expert voices in human rights can lead IP regimes toward a better balance between the needs of industry and the needs of public policy.
WHO Meeting On Pandemic Flu Reconvenes Under Pressure 15/05/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As cases of swine flu in humans pile up and fears that a more serious outbreak could occur in the future, member states, drug manufacturers and public health advocates gather Friday and Saturday to see if they can come up with a way to facilitate sharing of both viruses and vaccine related materials. Intellectual property laws are a key point of contention at the reconvened meeting.
WTO’s Lamy Continues Engagement On Intellectual Property Issues 14/05/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy continues to be engaged on intellectual property issues as WTO members begin to revive broader trade negotiations. This week Lamy hosted the heads of the World Intellectual Property Organization and World Health Organization together, and then chaired a consultation with ambassadors on proposals to amend WTO rules on intellectual property and trade.
Brazil Tightens Rules On Drug Companies’ Influence On Physicians 07/05/2009 by Claudia Jurberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment RIO DE JANEIRO – The interaction between pharmaceutical companies and physicians has been discussed intensely in the last three years in Brazil, and recently has come under heightened scrutiny.
Greenidge To Step Down As Director Of IFPMA 01/05/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Alicia Greenidge, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), has stepped down from the post.