Unease Over Seconded Philanthropic Foundation Staff To Top Management At WHO 15/12/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Third World Network reports: Philanthropic foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Nations Foundation have seconded their staffers to top management positions at the World Health Organization.
WHO Report Examines Health Achievements, Future Challenges For Implementation Of SDGs 09/12/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment From the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals, what are the main achievements in health and what are the main challenges for the next 15 years? That is the question the World Health Organization sought to answer in a new publication issued yesterday.
Report: Ebola Distracted Global R&D Funding For Neglected Diseases; Public Funding At Low 08/12/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A newly issued report provides the “first ever” picture of global investment in Ebola research and development. The report found that investment in Ebola might have come at the expense of other funding to develop drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for other neglected diseases. The report also found that public funding on research and development for neglected diseases was at its lowest in years.
The Anniversary The World Trade Organization Would Rather Forget 06/12/2015 by Peter Ungphakorn for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The World Trade Organization (WTO)’s 20th anniversary celebrations are about to reach a climax with the 15–18 December Nairobi Ministerial Conference — the first to be held in Africa — following a celebratory Public Forum in Geneva in October. Just over a week before Nairobi, another anniversary is slipping by almost unnoticed. Today, December 6, is the 10th anniversary of a decision that the Director-General at the time, Pascal Lamy, hailed as confirmation “once again that members are determined to ensure the WTO’s trading system contributes to humanitarian and development goals.”
No Future Work Programme For WIPO Patent Law Committee; Questions On Development Orientation 06/12/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Two days of informal consultations last week did not bring World Intellectual Property Organization members to agreement on a work programme for the next session of its committee on the law of patents. Developed and developing countries have different views on the work of the committee, with developing countries seeking work on patent on health, and limitations and exceptions to patent rights, while developed countries are more interested in work-sharing between patent offices and protecting the confidentiality of information between patent advisers and their clients.
Colombia Asked To Declare Excessive Price For Cancer Drug Contrary To Public Interest, Grounds For Compulsory License 03/12/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 11 Comments Colombia has a decision to make. A full year has passed from the November 24, 2014 request by iFarma, Misión Salud and CIMUN for a declaration of the public interest regarding the cancer drug imatinib (marketed by Novartis as Gleevec/Glivec), the first step on the path toward a compulsory license in Colombia. Thus far, Colombia’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection has failed to act one way or another, leaving patients in limbo and the government at the mercy of a Swiss pharmaceutical giant that reported revenue of over $57.9 Billion USD in 2013, write James Love and Andrew S. Goldman.
Speakers At WIPO Diverge On Patents-Access Relationship; Biologics A Challenge For Generics 03/12/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A seminar on patents and availability of medicines in developing countries yesterday considered whether patents constitute a barrier to access. For the private sector, patents are essential to the innovation system, for others they maintain high prices and should be licensed for easier access. Beyond patents, biologics seem to be taking over the pharmaceutical industry, and the complexity of manufacturing biosimilars might well leave traditional generic manufacturers by the wayside. Separately, a side event at WIPO looked at IP management strategies in private-public partnerships in agriculture and health technologies.
Impact Of The TPP On The Pharma Industry 02/12/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership confirms beyond doubt the apprehensions expressed by civil society, academia and the generic industry about new barriers to access to medicines. The TPP has done away with several flexibilities provided under the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration on Public Health. Though the text mentions “nothing in this [IPR] Chapter limits a Party’s rights and obligations under Article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement,” the TPP Investment Chapter overrides these flexibilities, says D G Shah.
US Congressional Study Finds Excessive Profit-Seeking In USD84K Hepatitis Drug Sovaldi 01/12/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Two bipartisan United States senators today released the results of an 18-month investigation into the US$84,000 price of the Sovaldi hepatitis C drug, finding the pricing and marketing strategy was aimed at maximizing revenue at the expense of access and affordability. The new report also shows the high impact on US government drug procurement programs and other data.
Ebola Vaccine Team Welcomes New UK R&D Financing, Expects Governments To Join In 01/12/2015 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Having led the successful collaborative testing of an Ebola-vaccine in record time, John-Arne Røttingen of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health now wants to expand the idea to a permanent global financing facility for research and development. And he is optimistic.