Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Slow and uneven economic growth was the main concern echoed by panellists participating in this morning’s high-level policy dialogue at the 2013 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Substantive Session. Representatives from various intergovernmental agencies shared their perspectives on the status of the global economy with respect to innovation and the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The price of first- and second-line anti-retrovirals (ARVs) have declined due to increased generic competition, while third-line regimens remain “exorbitantly priced,” according to the latest edition of a publication from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Innovation is a main focus of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) substantive session taking place in Geneva this week. Today, at the ECOSOC opening session, the 2013 Global Innovation Index (GII) was launched, which ranked Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States as the top five most innovative countries in the world.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new recommendations that call for earlier HIV treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART) in an effort to keep HIV patients healthier for a longer period of time.
The Medicines Patent Pool, Shilpa Medicare, and Gilead Sciences have signed an agreement to increase access to HIV treatment medicines. The agreement will allow Shilpa Medicare to manufacture “five key HIV medicines for sale in 100-112 countries,” and the goal is to cover “a majority of people living with HIV.”
Since 2009, seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reduced new HIV infections among children by 50 percent, and others have made significant progress, according to a new report by UNAIDS. But efforts in some countries have stalled, it said.
The World Health Organization is undergoing major reform including working to stabilise its fiscal future, and members are trying to set out careful terms for working with and receiving support from entities referred to as non-state actors, such as private foundations and organisations.
The Obama administration and academic and industry partners today announced their commitment to support the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), a public-private endeavor whose aim is to reduce the time required to develop novel materials that can “fuel advanced manufacturing and bolster the 21st century American economy.”
This summer through September, a restructuring is taking place under the World Health Organization Health Systems and Innovation cluster that has relevance for intellectual property and innovation issues.
Central American, Caribbean, and African economies have the most “inventor brain drain” in relation to the number of home country inventors, according to a recent working paper released by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Data for the study included information on inventor nationality and residence available in Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications.
In its recently released Supply Annual Report for 2012, the United Nations agency UNICEF assessed its programme work in developing and strengthening supply chains, in hopes of achieving equitable access to life-saving supplies for children and women. The report found that UNICEF procured supplies and services valued at $2.468 billion, with India being the largest supplier country to UNICEF in 2012.
The European Commission (EC) has fined Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck as well as eight other generic manufacturers for delaying market entry of generic medicines by way of patent settlement agreements (also known as “pay-for-delay” agreements).