New Study Makes Case for Innovative Medicines 31/01/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new pharmaceutical industry-backed study draws attention to the value of innovative medicines in reducing healthcare costs and to the wider society that goes beyond clinical and personal values. However, in middle income countries, national prioritisation and improvements in healthcare infrastructure are needed to maximise the value of medicinal innovation, the study found.
At WIPO, Nations See Different Needs From Patent System 27/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An important international platform that has seen stark differences in the past, the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) began a weeklong meeting today on improving the patent system with parties promoting their own interests and asking straightforward questions of others.
WHO Sets Path For Model R&D Projects For Developing Countries 25/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Members of the World Health Organization Executive Board this week moved forward on the long path to new ways to spur research and development for diseases that mainly afflict poor populations. A process has been set for considering – and potentially choosing among – eight projects before the annual World Health Assembly in May.
WHO Board Adopts Resolution On Medicines Access After TRIPS Flexibilities Debate 25/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The sometimes tense issue of intellectual property rights flexibilities built into international trade rules on IP briefly threatened to trip up a proposal on access to medicines today at the World Health Organization. But members managed to steer the debate to consensus on a text that will now head to the full membership for approval in May.
WHO Board Addresses Substandard Medicines, Flu Pandemics, Regulatory Systems 24/01/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organization Executive Board got through a high number of items yesterday, including several with ramifications for intellectual property and innovation.
WHO Chief: No Government Should Be Intimidated For Doing “Right Thing” In Public Health 24/01/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Discussions on access to essential medicines yesterday at the World Health Organization were in some ways overshadowed by the recent leak of a global pharmaceutical campaign aimed at derailing efforts by the South African government to revise its intellectual property policy. WHO Director General Margaret Chan strongly supported South Africa, as did several developing countries, while developed countries remained silent on the subject.
WHO Board Tackles Reform, Engagement With Non-State Actors 24/01/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The World Health Organization Executive Board spent long hours this week discussing the progress of the reform of the organisation. Among items covered were the reform implementation plan, the engagement of WHO with non-state actors, and ways to improve decision-making by the organisation’s governing bodies.
Global Health 2035 Report: Flawed Projections 23/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Daniele Dionisio writes: Hopes that a comprehensive global health goal could be reached by 2035 are hardly credible with the load of unresolved issues still on the table. This article turns the spotlight on much-debated relevant questions that were left out or under-scrutinised in a recently published Lancet report.
New Health Collaboration Touts Ethics, Aims To Put Patients First 22/01/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Several health care organisations this week signed a “consensus framework” for ethical collaboration between patients’ organisations, healthcare professionals, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Concerns Erupt Over Leaked Pharma Lobbying Plan Against IP Policy In South Africa 22/01/2014 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The South African minister leading the charge in drafting a revised intellectual property policy for the country has expressed his dismay at reports of a pharmaceutical company campaign aimed at derailing the process of implementing the new IP policy.