Category Biodiversity/Genetic Resources/Biotech

US Congress Committee Issues Report On “Highly Invasive” FDA Surveillance Of Employees

The United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today released a report detailing the US Food and Drug Administration's "highly-invasive" surveillance programme that monitored employees who contacted Congress and the media, according to a press release from the committee leaders. Surveillance was unauthorised and whistleblowers were not given sufficient protection, the report found.

Year Ahead: Biotech, IP Promise to Create Controversy From Farms To Big Pharma In 2014

The intersection of biotechnology and intellectual property continues to be a hot topic across the globe. From the patenting of certain plant varieties to human genes, to biodiversity and food security, to genetic resources, countries from developing to developed are attempting to navigate often blurred lines in terms of what can and cannot be patented, what should - and shouldn’t - be patented, and protecting innovators from farmers to plant breeders to drug manufacturers.

Interview With Nazeem Mohamed, CEO Of Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries

Nazeem Mohamed is chief executive officer of Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries (KPI), a Ugandan generic manufacturer. Local manufacture of medicines is described by many, including the World Health Organization, as one of the tools that will increase access to medicines. Mohamed is former vice-president of strategic product development at Novo Nordisk, based in Belgium. He also worked for several leading multinational companies such as Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline before his appointment as CEO of KPI.

With Intellectual Property Watch, Mohamed discussed KPI, the challenges of local drug production, the burden of non-communicable diseases, the issue of substandard medicines, rules engineered in the West which can hinder affordability and access in a least-developed country, unfair competition, and unmet skills building needs.

Paper Makes Recommendations For Exhaustion Of IP Rights

A recent paper issued by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) compares existing exhaustion policies and makes recommendations for countries in the process of adopting their own regimes in this area. These have the potential to contribute to economic and social development, innovation and the protection of user rights globally, it said.

Biopharma Industries, Others Urge Caution In US Patent Reform

A coalition of large and small companies and organisation - including the leading trade associations for the US pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries - has asked the US Congress to use caution in rewriting patent laws so as not to cause unintended harm to their ability to innovate.

WIPO Genetic Resources Text Compiles Differences, Heads To General Assembly

Despite spending a week in mostly closed, informal discussions, the World Intellectual Property Organization committee working on the protection of genetic resources, got little closer to breaching the opposing viewpoints. Members managed to produce a draft text - with signs of steps toward a middle ground - that they say can serve as a basis for further discussion on the development of an international instrument preventing wrongful patents.

Study Maps Global Distribution Of Genetic Resources In Patented Claims

A study of patent activity in the United Kingdom shows widespread global distribution of genetic resources used by UK innovators. The implications of international rules on access and benefit sharing will need to be communicated to these groups, who will among other things have to start assessing their supply chains to ensure full compliance throughout, according to the study author.