UN Human Rights Council To Host Expert Panel On Medicines Access This Week 04/03/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva this week will host a panel discussion among a notable range of experts on access to medicines and the controversial UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel report issued last September. The panel is expected to lead to a report sent on to the Human Rights Council for possible action next autumn.
What Is Fair Pricing For Medicines? WHO-Netherlands Forum Aims To Find Out 01/03/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Public health stakeholders – and just about everyone else – may take notice of a meeting planned for May in the Netherlands, as it could offer the beginning of a new approach to pharmaceutical costs. High drug prices have become a ‘kitchen table’ issue in countries of all economic sizes recently, and the World Health Organization is teaming up with the Dutch government to address it in a new and practical way.
A Look At Latest Figures On R&D For Neglected Diseases 01/03/2017 by Kim Treanor for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Financing for research and development into so-called neglected diseases – those predominantly affecting lower-income populations – rose recently mainly due to the Ebola outbreak, and private sector contributions represent a bigger share, according to the latest available data from a Gates Foundation-supported database.
Global Fund Hits Reset On Executive Director Search 28/02/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is deliberating on how to start over on its search for a new executive director after questions arose near the end of the process.
WHO Issues First List Of Potential Deadly Bacteria If No New Antibiotics Are Found 27/02/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Microbial resistance to antibiotics has been rising and the world is now facing the serious possibility of falling back to the days when infectious diseases were hardly treatable. The World Health Organization today published a list of bacteria for which new antibiotics are most urgently needed, to help with the race against time, as the medical world is running out of treatment options.
More Transparency In Medical Product Prices Discussed At Event 24/02/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The lack of access to medical products has spread from being a developing country problem to a global one as prices are now too high even for developed country patients and health systems for some medicines. An event at the Graduate Institute Global Public Health Centre yesterday was an opportunity to explore these issues.
German-Backed Report Lays Out Strategy For R&D Into New Antibiotics 23/02/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In the face of the lack of attractiveness of investing in research for new antibiotics for the pharmaceutical industry, and the general lack of funding for research and development for novel antibiotics, a new report commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Health calls for countries to take action. In particular, the report proposes a global union for research and development, a global research fund, and a global launch reward. And access and pricing are key components of the strategy, it says.
Momentum-Building: An Interview With Ruth Dreifuss On High-Level Panel On Access To Medicines 22/02/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Former Swiss President Ruth Dreifuss, co-chair of the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, participated in a Geneva event on rare diseases earlier this month. She agreed to answer Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez about the High-Level Panel report, in particular how it was received by the international community, her take on criticisms that have been voiced, and the importance that the report be discussed at the international level such as the World Health Assembly.
Special Report: WHO Board Sets Review Of 10-Year Effort To Boost Medicines Access, Affordability 16/02/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Once considered a breakthrough in negotiations to address problems of making cutting-edge medical products and research available to poor countries, the decade-old World Health Organization Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPOA) is now undergoing review, with the WHO Executive Board calling for a report on the initiative and plans for its future next year.
Geneva Health Campus: New Home For Global Fund, GAVI, Unitaid In 2018 14/02/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The construction of a new building to host the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and other key players in the area of global health is well under way in Geneva. The “Campus Santé” (Health Campus) is expected to open its doors at the beginning of 2018. The hosts of the building will be tenants, while the investment costs are borne by Crédit Suisse, a prominent Swiss investment bank.