Original news and analysis on international IP policy
There are many who see the World Health Organization mechanism to prepare and face the next influenza pandemic and insure availability of treatments as a success. However, some questions remain.
In a few days, the 70th World Health Assembly will open its doors in Geneva with a marathon agenda, and over 4,000 registered delegates. The election of a new director general, the approval of the budget for the next biennium (2018/2019) are set to capture the attention of member states. However, many other subjects require their consideration, such as a resolution on cancer treatment costs, research and development for epidemic diseases, for new antibiotics, for medicines affecting primarily poor populations, access to medicines, and the influenza pandemic preparedness framework.
The 70th World Health Assembly opening in a few days is the WHA of superlatives, according to a World Health Organization’s official. It is the longest assembly ever, with nine days of meeting, the largest number delegates, of agenda items, and of documents. It is also when the new WHO new director general will be elected, and when the WHO next budget is expected to be approved.
The World Health Organization has concluded a major one-day forum on fair pricing of medicines, bringing a wide range of stakeholders together in Amsterdam and coming up with several possible actions for the way ahead. Key points of discussion included a definition of fair pricing, moving away from value-based pricing, delinkage of price from research and development costs, and greater transparency, according to participants.
The World Health Organization today published an item entitled, Access to medicines: making market forces serve the poor, a chapter from its report ‘Ten years in public health 2007-2017’ of outgoing WHO Director General Margaret Chan.
Two new studies published by the World Health Organization provide insight on the production of pharmaceutical products in India and China. According to the studies, China has a substantial local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector which the Chinese government is closely linking to its policy objective of universal health care. India, the main global provider of generic medicines is not pursuing a comparable focus on universal health care. India is increasingly faced with Chinese pharmaceutical sector competition, with China being its main provider of commoditized active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
A group of civil society organisations and health experts have sent a letter to delegates to this month’s annual World Health Assembly urging support for a study on the delinkage of the costs of research and development from the prices of cancer medicines. Member states reportedly met on the issue today and are still undecided.
The World Health Organization announced today that it will launch a pilot project in 2017 for prequalifying cancer biosimilar medicines, with the intent of lowering prices on some of the most expensive cancer treatments.
The World Health Organization Bulletin this month has an article about the need for new models of research and development for tuberculosis and antimicrobial resistance. The article describes a new funding framework called the 3P Project.
The Medicines Patent Pool has received a licence to develop ravidasvir, a new treatment for hepatitis C.
Hepatitis-related mortality is on the rise, despite the existence of an efficient vaccine for hepatitis B and a cure for hepatitis C, according to the World Health Organization hepatitis report 2017 published today. One of the issues is that a majority of people are unaware of their condition due to limited access to affordable hepatitis testing. The price of the hepatitis C medicines has decreased in low-income countries, but still remains a barrier in upper-middle income and high-income countries, the WHO said.
Five years after health institutions and actors including pharmaceutical companies endorsed the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases, meant to support the World Health Organization to control and eradicate 10 specific diseases by 2020, new commitments were announced today (18 April) in Geneva.