Germany Brings Health Issues To G20; First Health Ministers Meeting In May 13/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Global health matters are entering into the Group of Twenty (G20) agenda under the German presidency of the group, which started in December 2016. The first-ever G20 Health Ministers’ meeting is scheduled to take place in May, before the regular G20 meeting in July. This week, a professor from the Graduate Institute of Geneva explained how health has become part of the G20 agenda.
Advisory Group Supports Industry Demand For Audit Of WHO Pandemic Flu Framework 05/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Health Organization has been recommended to provide details on its spending of funds provided to its pandemic influenza framework by the private sector.
Public-Private Coalition’s High-Profile Delinkage Policy For Emerging Vaccines 04/04/2017 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment It’s early February in Tchaourou district, Borgou in Benin, and a pregnant woman is admitted to hospital. Her premature baby is born by caesarean section but she dies a day later on February 12th. It turns out she had Lassa fever, a deadly viral haemorrhagic disease. But that’s only discovered after the baby is discharged from hospital and taken to northern Togo. The newborn also becomes ill and is taken to hospital for treatment.
Funding Injection For New Antibiotics: The CARB-X Transatlantic Partnership 30/03/2017 by Kim Treanor for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A partnership of government agencies and organisations in the United States and United Kingdom have announced an investment of up to US$48 million into the development of new antibiotics and products to fight antibiotic resistant bacteria, with the aim of having two new antibiotics in human trials in the next five years.
17 Civil Society Groups Urge EU To Support WHO Resolution On Cancer 30/03/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A range of civil society organisations today issued a letter to European Union leadership urging support for a World Health Organization resolution that mandates a feasibility study on a fund for cancer research and development that delinks R&D costs from the price of health technologies.
WHO Flu Framework Looks At Virus Genetic Information Sharing, Private Sector Contribution 28/03/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments How to deal with genetic information rather than physical samples of pandemic influenza virus continues to be discussed at the World Health Organization. For the moment, only physical samples are part of a framework of access and benefit sharing set up and run by the WHO. This week, the framework advisory group is meeting and according to sources, suggested steps to establish guidance on how to address virus genetic information will be shared by the WHO during the meeting.
Medicines Patent Pool Sublicenses New Antibiotic Candidate To TB Alliance For Development 24/03/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments TB Alliance and the Medicines Patent Pool announced today a licensing agreement for the development of sutezolid, a new antibiotic drug candidate which may be used to treat tuberculosis.
UN High-Level Panel On Access To Medicines Takes Next Step At Human Rights Council 09/03/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The United Nations Human Rights Council held a panel discussion yesterday to exchange views on good practices and key challenges relevant to access to medicines. The panel gave a large part of the discussion to the recent report of the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, much to the chagrin of the European Union and the United States.
Main Recommendations Of UN High-Level Panel On Access To Medicines Presented At WTO 07/03/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An event held at the World Trade Organization last week walked through key recommendations of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, including strategies for moving some of them forward.
WHO Director General Candidates Showcase Campaigns To The World 07/03/2017 by Peter Kenny for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments It has been a gruelling campaign for the three final candidates for the post of director general of the World Health Organization and their latest public foray was dubbed a “moderated discussion.”