Original news and analysis on international IP policy
In light of the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines initiative, the GlaxoSmithKline company today announced steps to further help bring innovative medicines to poor countries.
The World Health Organization has released a report on the role of intellectual property in local production of medicines in developing countries. According to the report, the way countries design their intellectual property system is key in the development of local innovation and production. However, health outcomes will depend on the accessibility and affordability of good-quality essential medicines.
A new UN report provides significant detail on the increasing flows of cultural trade worldwide. On intellectual property rights, the report appears to primarily examine copyright as a form of revenue generation.
This year will be the last in office for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. A number of Eastern European candidates are being proposed by their governments to be the next secretary general. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the UN Environment Programme are expected to have a new head by summer. Meanwhile, chairs are actively revolving in law offices.
Two key senators today released dozens of comments they received in response to their report on the medicine Sovaldi (and its follow-on Harvoni), whose extreme high prices sparked a debate over pharmaceutical pricing that has created momentum for policy changes.
The stand-off between European Patent Office President Benoît Battistelli and the Office's largest staff union continues this week with a 16 March SUEPO demonstration planned during a meeting of the Office's Administrative Council (AC), which supervises the EPO's activities.
An initiative of the United Nations secretary general yesterday gathered what could be described as an assembly of many of the world’s best thinkers and practitioners on public health and intellectual property rights. Industry, activists, academics, international organisations, and possibly some governments poured out their views for nearly seven hours – at times coming to tears and tension – shepherded by an astute moderator, as they responded to the call to take a longstanding debate on medicines access and high prices to a breakthrough.
The World Health Organization has provided a list of suggestions to the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, highlighting WHO activities in this area and making suggestions on areas the WHO has not yet been able to complete. It also describes several new proposals by WHO, including a global “fair pricing forum,” a pooled health product R&D fund, and a global antibiotic research and development facility.
The United States National Institutes of Health’s decision to consider granting an exclusive licence on patents for a newly government-developed vaccine to Sanofi has prompted a strong reaction from civil society warning against potential high prices and requesting transparency in the process.
Whether laws enforcing transparency on costs would help curb extortionate drug prices in today’s world is hardly predictable now that pharma companies and their allies are lobbying governments to scupper any rules that would require them to disclose the real R&D costs and profits of their medicines and the rationale for charging what they do, writes Daniele Dionisio.