WHO, Netherlands To Hold Fair Drug Pricing Forum In May

The World Health Organization and The Netherlands government will co-host a meeting in the spring that brings experts together to look at high drug prices and government purchasing of medicines.

The forum is planned for the first half of May in The Hague, according to Daniela Bagozzi of the WHO Department of Essential Medicines and Health Products, which is handling the initiative at the WHO.

Details are still being worked out, but it will convene “all of the main stakeholders” involved in negotiations for what medicines governments will purchase, such as governments, industry and others, she told Intellectual Property Watch.

The WHO is aiming to launch a report on pricing at the same time, she said.

The need for the event arises from high-priced medicines that have been seen in developing and developed countries.

Nongovernmental organisations were briefed on the forum yesterday in the margins of this week’s WHO Executive Board meeting.

Intellectual Property Watch will follow with a more in-depth story about the forum soon.