No Free Lunch, G20 Health Ministers Find At First Meeting 20/05/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Group of 20 health ministers today finished their first joint table top exercise to simulate the outbreak of a new deadly viral pandemic in “Anycountry” and passed a seven-page final resolution on pandemic preparedness and antimicrobial resistance. Non-governmental experts and health organizations welcomed the first ever meeting of health ministers in the G20 format, but see a risk of framing the debate from a global North security perspective. And despite a call of urgency with regard to antimicrobial resistance, the G20 could not agree to include the de-linking of the cost of investment in R&D from the price of medical products.
WIPO Committee On Development Outcome Hailed As Most Positive In Years 20/05/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment After years of mostly discontented discussions at the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on IP and development, last week proved positive, with a 10 year political knot solved, an international conference, and a new project approved, as well as a number of recommendations to implement the 2007 WIPO Development Agenda.
March-in Rights: A Lost Opportunity To Lower US Drug Prices 18/05/2017 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 17 Comments It appears not just unfair, but absurdly so. The US government paid for research that produced a patented drug, the patents were licensed exclusively to a Japanese firm, and that firm is now committing price discrimination against the US. Astellas Pharma is selling its anti-prostate cancer drug, Xtandi, for over $129,000 per year per patient in the United States – triple the price of the drug in Japan. Alas, this situation is not unusual. Many drugs that were financed by US taxpayers are sold in the US at exorbitant prices, but are much cheaper in other high-income industrialized nations. This differential price problem could be solved easily. However, the US government has consistently refused to exercise its march-in rights in order to lower drug prices.
IFPMA Priorities At WHA: Election, Antibiotics, Cancer, Pandemics 17/05/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The new head of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) has hit the ground running in Geneva, and is weighing in on a variety of policy issues, this week providing a list of priorities for the research-based pharma industry at the upcoming annual World Health Assembly.
International IP Treaties Bring Tension in Africa’s Homegrown Knowledge Governance 15/05/2017 by Munyaradzi Makoni for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The belief that intellectual property promotes foreign direct investment and international trade has brought tension in African countries’ ability to eliminate trade barriers, and to ensure local governments are able to develop policies that respond to local needs, according to an extensive new analysis.
Brussels Conference On Innovation, Research and Competition In EU 12/05/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An academic conference this month will explore issues related to innovation, research and competition in the European Union, addressing topics such as 5G, big data, patents and standards.
WHO Studies On Local Pharma Production Provide Key Contrasts Between China, India 11/05/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Two new studies published by the World Health Organization provide insight on the production of pharmaceutical products in India and China. According to the studies, China has a substantial local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector which the Chinese government is closely linking to its policy objective of universal health care. India, the main global provider of generic medicines is not pursuing a comparable focus on universal health care. India is increasingly faced with Chinese pharmaceutical sector competition, with China being its main provider of commoditized active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
Shortage Of Affordable Insulin: Should WHO Extend Prequalification To Biosimilars? 10/05/2017 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The WHO last week announced plans to explore options for prequalifying insulin, a process that already assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of medicinal products, such as tuberculosis and malaria drugs. The WHO is considering whether to extend the prequalification process to manufacturers creating me-too versions of insulins, more commonly known as biosimilars.
MSF Warns Of Threats To Public Health In Asian Trade Agreement IP Proposals 09/05/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The 18th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement negotiations is taking place this week in Manila, Philippines. Health activists warn that Japan and South Korea are pushing for measures that go beyond international trade rules on intellectual property, including extending patent terms and data exclusivity in countries such as India, a primary source of cheaper generic medicines.
The True Believer: An Interview With New IFPMA Director General Thomas Cueni 08/05/2017 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) has long been at the centre of global public health policy in Geneva, representing industry from around the world. Now at a critical moment of change in the policymaking machinery, a new leader, Thomas Cueni of Switzerland, has taken over. Intellectual Property Watch recently sat down with him to discuss his views and vision going forward, and discovered his intellectual pragmatism and diverse experience which promise to open an ambitious new era for the association and global health policy.