Kenya Fights To Retain IP Flexibilities For Medicines Imports 09/08/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen A second attempt in Kenya to restrict intellectual property flexibilities meant to safeguard access to medicines has most likely been defeated, largely due to opposition from an interagency task force and civil society groups, local sources said. But although key politicians have indicated that proposed changes to Kenya’s intellectual property […]
WHO IP Working Group To Address Conflicting Interests Before December Meeting 25/07/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An intergovernmental working group on public health and intellectual property, which the World Health Assembly said in May should be set up “immediately,” is scheduled to meet for the first time in December in Geneva, according to informed sources. But apparently it is no easy task for the World Health Organization (WHO) to coordinate the […]
G8 Outcome Has IP Implications For Enforcement, Trade and Health 19/07/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week’s Group of Eight (G8) meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia highlighted piracy and counterfeiting as one area in which G8 is determined to step up its effort, but it also made commitments to improve access to medicines for infectious diseases and to fulfil the development objective of the current world trade talks. Separately, German […]
MSF: Patent Monopoly Hinders Developing Countries’ Access To New HIV/AIDS Medicine 06/07/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A monopoly by a single pharmaceutical company on a new medicine for HIV/AIDS has limited access to the medicine to a select group of patients in developing countries, a non-profit group said today. The product is lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra) and is only produced by the pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories, which holds the patent for the product, […]
Indonesia Strives To Acquire Bird Flu Medicines Despite No Patent 05/07/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment With eight recently confirmed cases of avian influenza, Indonesia is scrambling to build up its stockpile of medicines. The preferred product to fight bird flu in humans is not under patent in Indonesia, which raises questions as to why production has been off to a slow start in the country. Roche, the Swiss producer of […]
WHO Intergovernmental Working Group On IP Ready “In Days” 23/06/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An intergovernmental working group on intellectual property rights mandated by the May World Health Assembly is expected to be set up “in the next few days,” according to World Health Organization sources. The WHA resolution adopted in May called for the committee to be created “immediately,” and supporters are getting eager to see the issue […]
Brazil Fights To Make Case For International Biodiversity Protection 31/05/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Brazil has arguably the earth’s richest source of biological diversity, and it is fighting to get help at the international level to protect those natural resources from what it says is unfair exploitation through patents by companies and others in and outside Brazil. While industry argues that the Brazilian law regulating the use of genetic […]
World Health Organization To Elect New Director General In November 31/05/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to speed up the process of electing a new director general and will meet in November to nominate a candidate who will be proposed to a special session of the World Health Assembly. The decision was reached in the form of a resolution at […]
World Health Assembly Adopts Milestone R&D Resolution 27/05/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Health Assembly today agreed to establish an intergovernmental group to develop a global plan on research and development for diseases predominantly affecting developing countries. The agreement reflects a bridging of significant gaps between parties on the issue a few weeks ago. The resolution was adopted in 90 seconds with no debate, a developed […]
World Health Assembly Adopts Resolution Tying Public Health To Trade Policy 27/05/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Assembly today adopted a resolution that urges member states to improve coordination at the national level between international trade and public health, requesting the World Health Organization (WHO) to help its member states to do this. The resolution calls for governments to promote a better dialogue on trade and health, and gives […]