[A2k] MSF Statement at the WIPO meeting on the Development Agenda

[James Love]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: MSF Statement at the WIPO meeting on the Development Agenda
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2005 11:17:44 +0200
From: Ellen T HOEN <Ellen.T.HOEN@paris.msf.org>
To: Ip-health@lists.essential.org

Statement by M=C3=A9decins sans Fronti=C3=A8res at the WIPO Inter-sessional
Intergovernemental meeting on a development agenda for WIPO April 11-13
April 2005

Thank you Mr Chairman for giving me the opportunity to address the
Inter-sessional Intergovernemental meeting.

I am speaking on behalf of M=C3=A9decins sans Fronti=C3=A8res=E2=80=99 acce=
ss to essential
medicines campaign. MSF is a medical humanitarian organisation.

It is today (12 April) exactly 50 years ago that scientists in the US
announced the polio vaccine. It signalled the beginning of polio
vaccination around the world. Today polio is almost eradicated from the
world. An official of the US Centre for Disease Control was quoted in last
week=E2=80=99s Journal of the American Medical Association as saying: =E2=
=80=98=E2=80=A6 the
vaccine=E2=80=99s success was also a statement of equity =E2=80=93 that whe=
n you have a
tool like the polio vaccine, it does not have to be applied to only those
who can afford it. It is given to everyone and all benefit.=E2=80=99

Today pharmaceutical innovation is skewed towards areas that promise a
profitable return. This is a logical consequence of a patent driven R&D
mechanism. However this system leaves huge health needs unmet - the
consequences of which we experience on a daily basis in our projects in the
80 countries we work.  A number of not- for- profit drug development
initiatives strive to fill these gaps.

Last week the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) =E2=80=93 a no=
t for
profit drug development initiative of which MSF is a co-founder - announced
that it developed a new antimalaria treatment. The new medicine will be
available in developing countries from Sanofi =E2=80=93Aventis for less tha=
n 1
dollar per treatment - half the price of the current recommended
combination therapy for malaria. The product is not patented and technology
is available for other companies who wish to produce it.

New R&D models such as not-for-profit product development projects begin to
show some results. But lack of support especially long term sustainable
financing for these endeavours and difficulties accessing compounds tied up
in IP for further development remain a huge constraint.

Because we cannot accept a world in which medical innovation can only be
enjoyed by the wealthy, WIPO should engage in exploring new models of
health needs based innovation.

Only 10 percent of the people living with AIDS who need treatment, receive
it today. 50% of the 750 000 people living with AIDS in the developing
world who receive antiretroviral medicines rely on generic medicines,
mostly from India.

Last month India amended its patents act to be compliant with the TRIPS
Agreement.

Although MSF has great concerns about the consequences of full TRIPS
implementation for the availability of affordable medicines in the future,
we are encouraged to see that India=E2=80=99s new law provides for an autom=
atic
licensing system that will protect the availability of the medicines that
are being produced by Indian drug manufacturers also when they become
patented, provided a reasonable royalty is paid.

India has also restricted the scope of patentability to avoid ever-greening
of pharmaceutical patents and the granting of frivolous patents.

We fear that in WIPO=E2=80=99s pursuit of ever-higher levels of IP the kind=
s of
safeguards - applied by India for example - will cease to exist. WIPO is
working actively through the SPLT process to close off the flexibilities
that are available under TRIPS and the Doha Declaration, in particular
scope of patentability, and create a new harmonized high level system,
modelled on developed countries standards.

We fear the birth of =E2=80=98TRIPS2=E2=80=99 before we even began to evalu=
ate the effect
of the full implementation of TRIPS.

WIPO=E2=80=99s one size fits all harmonisation efforts may negate rights of
countries to design their patent laws according to their need to take
measures to protect public health. A high quality patent system means being
able to choose the standards of patentability that best fit your needs and
enforce them. It does not mean adopting ever-higher standards or the
standards of industrialised countries.

Specifically we recommend that:

-     WIPO engage in the debate how to stimulate health needs driven
innovation, especially for neglected diseases, including mechanisms to make
the fruits of medical innovations available to all who need them. WIPO
should be involved in exploring alternative models for financing and
prioritizing innovation to ensure health needs driven research and
development including the development of global public goods for health and
access to knowledge essential for advances in health.

-     Ensure that its technical assistance programmes provide practical
tools to countries and others to fully implement the Doha Declaration on
TRIPS and Public Health, and to use to the full the flexibilities of the
TRIPS agreement to promote access to medicines for all. WIPO should work
with other UN agencies in particular the WHO in this field.

-     WIPO should not move ahead with patent law reform without an
independent impact assessment of the likely affect on public health, in
particular on access to and the development of essential medical tools.

A development agenda for WIPO should help address key issues related to
access to essential medical tools. WIPO should contribute to IP systems and
practices that have the interest of the public as a whole at heart.


I thank you for your attention

**********************************************************
Ellen F.M. 't Hoen LL.M.
Medecins sans Frontieres
Access to Essential Medicines Campaign
8, rue Saint - Sabin
75544 Paris cedex 11
France

tel: + 33 1 4021 2836
fax: + 33 1 40212960
e-mail: ellen.t.hoen@paris.msf.org
www.accessmed-msf.org
--
James Love, Consumer Project on Technology, http://www.cptech.org,
mailto:love@cptech.org

Washington office, DC PO Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036, USA Tel.:
+1.202.387.8030, fax: +1.202.234.5176

Geneva office, 1 Route des  Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2,
Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 791 6727

London office, 24 Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX, UK. Tel:+44(0)207
226 6663 ex 252. Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607