Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The Medicines Patent Pool, Shilpa Medicare, and Gilead Sciences have signed an agreement to increase access to HIV treatment medicines. The agreement will allow Shilpa Medicare to manufacture “five key HIV medicines for sale in 100-112 countries,” and the goal is to cover “a majority of people living with HIV.”
Since 2009, seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reduced new HIV infections among children by 50 percent, and others have made significant progress, according to a new report by UNAIDS. But efforts in some countries have stalled, it said.
The World Health Organization is undergoing major reform including working to stabilise its fiscal future, and members are trying to set out careful terms for working with and receiving support from entities referred to as non-state actors, such as private foundations and organisations.
This summer through September, a restructuring is taking place under the World Health Organization Health Systems and Innovation cluster that has relevance for intellectual property and innovation issues.
An article in the newly launched Journal of Health Diplomacy about the stalled progress at the World Health Organization for a medical research and development (R&D) convention discusses systemic failures in global health policy.
The latest instalment of the World Intellectual Property Organization seminar series titled “The Economics of Intellectual Property” covered the issue of product patents in the pharmaceutical industry. Discussion focussed on the economics of intellectual property rights and how pharmaceutical patent protection might not be the sole culprit in the access to innovation problem.
Prices of cancer drugs must be lowered to be affordable for patients and to maintain sound long-term healthcare policies, according to a group of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) experts in a recent Blood journal editorial.
Three Geneva-based international organisations are continuing their collaboration on issues of health and innovation policy as it cuts across intellectual property rights by planning a 5 July symposium on "changing business models" in medical innovation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released an updated guidance document on pandemic influenza risk management, which includes the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework for the sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits that was discussed by member states during the 66th World Health Assembly (WHA) in May.
A recent Geneva-based study found that so-called evergreening practices utilised by drug manufacturers are successful in protecting profits by maintaining company market share and offsetting generic competition and cost containment policies.