Category Innovation/ R&D

Genetic Origin In Food And Agriculture Difficult To Identify, Say Seed Treaty Officials

Global food security lies in the capacity to access and contribute to a wide pool of genetic material, the chair of the United Nations treaty on plant genetic material said on the margin of this week’s World Intellectual Property Organization meeting on the protection of genetic resources. But the origin of this genetic material is often impossible to determine, particularly for crops, the treaty secretary said.

Fate Of Google Book Search Still To Come, Expert Says

A few years ago, internet giant Google had the idea to digitise tens of millions of the world’s books and ran into legal trouble with the publishers and authors of some of them. The cases have moved through many stages, but the ultimate fate of the massive amounts of knowledge it could have made available to the public is still to come, says a Washington, DC lawyer who has followed the case closely for years.

Genetic Resources And Traditional Knowledge : Getting The Rules Right For Agriculture: A Key Challenge For WIPO’s IGC

An essential relationship exists among the conservation, development and use of genetic resources, sustainable agriculture and food security. There is an equally essential relationship between the conservation, development and use of genetic resources and small scale-farmers. The strength and effectiveness of any treaty addressing IP and genetic resources depends on the meaningful participation of small-scale farmers, and those that can represent them, as in the treaty deliberations continuing next week at WIPO, write Susan Bragdon and Lynn Finnegan.

WHO Board Approves Resolution On Neglected Diseases; Sets Action On Substandard Medicines

The World Health Organization Executive Board today approved a modified resolution on neglected tropical diseases – after removing a reference to a working group on R&D for neglected diseases as “irrelevant”. The Board also discussed and took note of a report on poor quality medical products in the supply chain, and agreed to set another meeting on the issue before the May World Health Assembly, as well as set up a separate group on behaviours that lead to this problem.

Debate Erupts At WHO Over “Consensus” On Financing R&D For The Poor

World Health Organization members on Friday held a tense discussion over legal and political aspects of a consensus reached by a small number of member states in November on implementing a plan to address the global lack of research and development for neglected diseases predominantly afflicting poor populations. The discussion may continue today, with the linkage of an agenda item on neglected tropical diseases and the report of an expert working group offering numerous ideas for addressing the problem.

Governments Put WHO’s Independence At Heart Of Reform Debate

Any employee who has been through a company reform knows that it can be an anxious and stressful period. The experience is no different for the 194 members of the World Health Organization representing their respective countries and the public health interests of their constituents. As the WHO Executive Board digs deep into the fundamental principles of organisational change, preserving the holy member-driven nature of the global public health authority has emerged as the most pressing priority.