No Agreement On Public Health At TRIPS Council 25/10/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Officials at the World Trade Organization committee responsible for intellectual property issues on Tuesday could not agree on how to permanently change trade law to permit poor countries in need to import drugs made elsewhere under compulsory license. The WTO Council on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is under mandate […]
Indian Industry Pushing for Compulsory Licenses for Tamiflu 25/10/2005 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment While Swiss-based Roche, the rights holder to the most-favoured medicine for avian influenza, is pursuing sub-licenses, India is moving ahead with exploring the option of compulsory licensing. If this goes through, India would be able to export Tamiflu to developing countries and certain developed countries. The Indian Cabinet is considering issuing compulsory licenses to local […]
Roche Seeks Deals On Bird Flu Drug As Compulsory Licenses Loom 20/10/2005 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Roche, the Swiss-based company with rights to a medicine believed to be the most effective in the event of an avian influenza pandemic, has expressed openness to discussing arrangements with companies or governments to produce more of its flu treatment known as Tamiflu. But sceptics argue that the offer, made on 18 October, is too […]
IP Critical As Rocky US-Andean Trade Talks Resume 17/10/2005 by Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch Washington, DC—With negotiators set to resume work this week, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador are resisting demands by the United States for patent protections that go beyond those enshrined in international trade law in talks toward a U.S.-Andean free trade agreement continuing this fall. At the international level, trade-related […]
Push For IP Deals Continues In Lead-Up To WTO Ministerial 09/08/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Issues under negotiation at the World Trade Organization committee responsible for intellectual property issues are somewhat stalled, despite – or because of – their ties to broader issues being negotiated at the WTO, sources in Geneva say. It remains to be seen which, if any, intellectual property-related issues end up being negotiated at the December […]
Health Experts Debate Solutions For New Treatments, Access To Medicines 08/06/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Experts from across the political and socioeconomic spectrum spent three days last week at the World Health Organisation engaged in debate about the best ways to stimulate the development of new treatments for underserved illnesses and to improve poor countries’ access to available medicines. The task of summarizing the results of the meeting and other […]
Medical R&D Treaty Debated At World Health Assembly 30/05/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Experts attending the U.N. World Health Assembly this month debated a proposal to create an international treaty on medical research and development aimed at making medical treatment affordable globally while ensuring continuing innovation in the area. The proposed treaty was created in consultation with a variety of non-governmental and government experts, and in February, 162 […]
WHO Board Delays Decision On Trade-Related Proposal 27/05/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organisation Executive Board on Friday postponed to January a proposal urging governments to adopt national policies on international trade and health. The draft resolution led by Thailand had the support of Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya, Nepal, Sudan, Thailand, Tonga, Viet Nam, and others, but the board put […]
Health Assembly Officials Watch For Last-Minute Amendments 20/05/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment At the U.N. World Health Assembly negotiations in Geneva, officials have been watching carefully for the last-minute introduction of any amendments they view as unfavourable. This is true for all of the texts being developed, only some of which have a direct relation to intellectual property issues. The assembly, which runs from 16 to 25 […]
Experts Discuss Essential Drugs Patent Pool Proposal 19/05/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Consumer representatives, United Nations diplomats, drug industry representatives and others this week discussed a proposal to form a patent pool for essential medicines. The proposal was put forward by Consumers International and the Consumer Project on Technology (CP Tech) at the annual U.N. World Health Assembly, and on Tuesday filled a room with people holding […]