Original news and analysis on international IP policy
World Health Organization member states gathering this week at the WHO headquarters in a meeting to address global gaps in the drug development system said that there is still much work to be done before consensus can be reached on a resolution. For now, the latest draft resolution keeps a wide range of monitoring, coordinating, and financing options on the table, not yet setting a clear direction.
World Health Organization member states and official non-governmental observers will gather at the WHO headquarters this week for an open-ended meeting to analyse the feasibility of new models for financing research and development for diseases lacking sufficient market incentives and public policies.
The first meeting of the World Health Organization mechanism intended to promote the prevention and control of “substandard/spurious/falsely-labelled/falsified/counterfeit” (SSFFC) medical products is being called a success. Member states agreed on a work plan that focuses on strengthening regulatory capacities and decided to form a steering committee to monitor country compliance to the plan.
The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria appointed Ambassador Mark Dybul, a former US Global AIDS Coordinator, as the new head of the organisation. Additionally, the Board decided to move forward on implementing a new funding model, replacing the rounds-based system.
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) announced the identification of three potential drug classes for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases through the availability of hundreds of compounds in the public domain.
World Health Organization members this week achieved consensus on a set of voluntary targets and indicators for the prevention and control of the world’s biggest killers including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases. Two targets and several indicators relate to national health systems response.
In a single voice, public health authorities spoke out about the need to take on the world’s heaviest disease burdens including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases. Now negotiations are narrowing in on the specifics of how to prevent and control these diseases, and achieving agreement on some commitments, including those related to medicine availability, could prove more challenging.
The first meeting of the World Health Organization member state mechanism to prevent and control so-called substandard, spurious, falsely-labelled, falsified, and counterfeit medical products (SSFFC) will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 19-21 November.
The Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is in the final phases of selecting its next executive director. In the run-up to the decision, the international financing institution is multiplying signs of its good health as it looks to turn a corner after months of major reforms.
The World Health Organization advisory group on pandemic influenza preparedness met with pharmaceutical industry representatives, civil society members, and other stakeholders last week to move toward a recommendation on a partnership contribution formula to determine payment modalities for influenza virus sharing.