New WHO Essential Medicines List: Antibiotics, Hepatitis C, Leukaemia, TB 06/06/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The World Health Organization’s new list of essential medicines, those which should be available to everyone, anywhere, was issued today. To answer the rising concern about antimicrobial resistance, the antibiotics on the list have been divided in three groups, the last of which are to be used as a last resort. The list includes the first combination therapy to treat all six types of hepatitis C. However, no second line treatment for breast cancer has been added this year.
Polypills: Are Miracle Treatments Being Overlooked? 05/06/2017 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), a group of conditions that can result in heart attacks and strokes, is the world’s number one killer, accounting for one-third of deaths throughout the world, according to research released recently (17 May) by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.
WTO Annual Report Highlights TRIPS Amendment 02/06/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment “A moment of real historic significance for the World Trade Organization” was the entry into force of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) together with the amendment to Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said this week.
Cancer Drugs: Innovation ‘Blackmail’ Leads To Unaffordable Prices, Delinkage Needed, Speakers Say 30/05/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments What if you get an aggressive form of breast cancer, and the treatment exists but it is too expensive for you to get? You die. Tragic stories and the possibilities to avert them were centre stage at a panel last week on the margin of the ongoing World Health Assembly. Delinking the cost of research and development from the market prices of medicines was urged by speakers on the panel: representatives of cancer patients, civil society, and the Brazilian deputy ambassador.
Global Health R&D: Evidence, Priorities, Coordination 29/05/2017 by Mara Pillinger for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Health Assembly Agenda Item 13.5 is descriptively-yet-uninformatively labelled “Follow-up of the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG).” But that anodyne title actually masks an important milestone in the World Health Organization’s long-running efforts to increase R&D around neglected diseases and diseases of poverty.
Unlikely Alliance Of India, US Could Keep Medicines Access On WHO Agenda 28/05/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments It is not often that on the matter of access to medicines, India and the United States agree at the World Health Organization. But the issue of access to medicines is rising on the international agenda and developed countries are feeling the bite of prices of new medicines. Core beneficiaries of the patent system held steady this week, but among their defenders, the issue is blurring as some countries, such as the Netherlands, Greece and Portugal, are not putting up with industry prices and are saying it.
Review Of WHO Public Health And IP Strategy: Help Needed On TRIPS Flexibilities 28/05/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment International organisations, in particular the World Health Organization, should help poor countries implement the flexibilities enshrined in international trade rules, a number of developing countries said at the World Health Assembly on 26 May. WHO members in committee hailed and noted a report on the organisation’s strategy on public health, innovation and intellectual property, the first part of an overall review. Civil society had another take on the report, and deplored slow progress on access to medicines.
WIPO Launches Strategic Plan 2017-2021 For Re:Search Program 25/05/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch and William New Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization this week has striven to show its commitment to contributing to the debate on intellectual property and health, and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, through advancement of its Re:Search program for the next five years.
Beyond The Obvious – Direct And Indirect Territorial Coverage Of MPP/ViiV Voluntary License For Dolutegravir 24/05/2017 by Brook Baker for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Pursuant to a license negotiated by the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) with ViiV Healthcare (ViiV), an important new antiretroviral medicine, dolutegravir (DTG), will soon be available via generic competition in all low- and lower-middle-income countries, and a significant number of upper-middle-income countries as well. DTG is a highly recommended integrase inhibitor which highly effective, durable, inexpensive to produce, and relatively safe with few side effects. It is already an alternative WHO recommended first-line medicine and will probably become the global standard of care following trials on use of DTG to treat pregnant women and people with TB.[1] But until the MPP can succeed in getting inclusive licensing terms covering all low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), this unique clause in the MPP-ViiV license should be adopted in future licenses, as it is a best practice to date in terms of expansive coverage, writes Brook Baker.
Chan’s Last Speech To WHA Opening: Affordable Medicines, Innovation, Listen To Civil Society, Partner With Industry 22/05/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In her final opening speech to the annual World Health Assembly, Director General Margaret Chan today underlined progress made and left to make, and highlighted access to medicines as the most contentious issue of her decade of service. She stressed the importance of innovation, and investment in health, acknowledged the necessity of partners such as the private sector and civil society, and encouraged scientific evidence in decision making. And she focussed strongly on global security and health emergencies.