The Case For Nations To Act On Medicines Access 23/07/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments NEW YORK — A range of speakers, including top health officials from both a developed and developing country, last week laid out the case for why the world’s leaders must now launch a shift in the way medicines all populations need are developed and priced. The need for global collaboration is clear, speakers said, but who will lead?
WHO Prequalifies First Generic Hepatitis C Drug And First HIV Self-Test 21/07/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In the days before this month’s AIDS conference being held in Paris, the World Health Organization has announced the prequalification of the first generic version of sofosbuvir, a “critical” medicine for treating hepatitis C. Treatment for hepatitis C under patent has been notoriously priced at extreme high levels, putting it out of reach of patients in economies of all sizes.
Temporary Compulsory License For Antiretroviral Drug Upheld By German Court 17/07/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment MUNICH — The German Federal Supreme Court in a decision drawing significant attention on 11 July upheld a temporary compulsory licence granted for the HIV drug Isentress (X ZB 2/17). The antiretroviral drug, based on raltegravir, has been the object of a prolonged court fight between Japanese drug company Shionogi and its US competitor Merck.
Event Looks At UN High-Level Panel On Medicines Access, SDGs And Policy Coherence 15/07/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An event on 17 July at the United Nations in New York will address the “UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines: Advancing Health-Related SDGs through Policy Coherence.”
3P Project Enables Radical Change In R&D For TB Treatment 15/07/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new project that stimulates the development of affordable and effective drug regimens to treat tuberculosis (TB) is catching notice in policy circles.
Access To Medicines For All By 2030: New WHO Strategic Framework Sets Vision 13/07/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Access to affordable and quality medicines for all is one of the major commitments of the World Health Organization, and its new medicines and health products strategic framework for the next 15 years calls for new research and development (R&D) models, including delinkage of the R&D costs from the price of products, and fair pricing.
WIPO Patent Law Committee Agrees On Future Work: Exceptions, Quality, Health, Confidentiality, Tech Transfer 06/07/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment General satisfaction was expressed today at the World Intellectual Property Organization as members of the patent law committee agreed on a future work programme. That is an exercise that they could not complete in December 2016. Included in the work programme is a half-day information exchange on cooperation between patent offices on search and examination, a half-day information exchange on publicly accessible databases on medicines and patent information, and a reference document on exceptions and limitations to patent rights.
WIPO Patent Law Committee Looks At Health, Quality 06/07/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Discussions carried out at the World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee this week reflect strong interest for the subjects but from different angles. Topics such as how patents may affect access to medicines are favoured by some countries, while others view patents as the main enabler of innovative new products. Some find collaborative work between patent offices primordial, while others worry that it could be harmonisation in disguise. Proposals are not lacking about activities to be conducted in the committee but countries need to agree on those which meet their common goals. [Update: the committee finished early with an agreement on future work. Story to come shortly.]
Medicines Patent Pool Nets WHO’s Kieny As New Chair 03/07/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Marie-Paule Kieny, fresh out of the World Health Organization, where she held the position of assistant director general for Health Systems and Innovation, will be the new chair of the Medicines Patent Pool, as of 1 September.
Novartis Loses Claim On Extension Of Data Exclusivity 28/06/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In a decision today, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg put an end to a complaint by Novartis Europharm Ltd against the European Commission over the terms for data exclusivity (C-629/15 P). Novartis had appealed an earlier decision by the European Court (the first instance) which had rejected the claims by the pharmaceutical company that it should be granted additional data exclusivity for Aclasta, developed from Novartis’ older drug Zometa. No way, the Court of Justice said today, upholding the judgment by the lower court that had found that Novartis’ interpretation of the rules would effectively allow the extension of data exclusivity for a drug forever.