[Ip-health] International Policy Network on R&D Treaty and Neglected Diseases

[Mike Palmedo]

Below I've cut and pasted an email to the WHO Commission on IP,
Innovation and Health. It was sent by Philip Stevens, the Director of
Health Projects at the the International Policy Network's Campaign for
Fighting Diseases.  Steven's main point seems to be that an R&D Treaty
is not needed because there really is no problem with research into
neglected diseases, and an R&D Treaty might just weaken the current
system.

At the end there are two links to his organization's report on the
nonexistence of the 10/90 gap.
The report also argues against changing the current system of funding
R&D.  (The first link doesn't work.  Use this one:
http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/submissions/en/InternationalPolicyNetwork.pdf)

I would expect that people on ip-health would blow this off as nonsense,
but I wonder how many people take this outfit and their arguments
seriously. They seem to have a sizable group, and get a decent amount of
press.  (Yesterday, Scott Gottleib, who is also associated with this
group, had his op-ed "Let the Market Find a Cure for AIDS" published in
Forbes Magazine.)

Mike


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http://astro.lyris.net/read/messages?id=59484

Those who call for a global medical R&D treaty base their argument on
the premise that current pharmaceutical research and development results
in too many resources being invested in the diseases of the rich at the
expense of the poor. They argue that nothing short of a fundamental
redesign of the R&D paradigm will ensure the development of medicines
that properly address the diseases of poverty.

However, the premise of this argument is both misleading and dangerous.
Obsessive focus on the so-called "neglected diseases" threatens to
distort priorities. The fact is that treatments already exist for the
vast majority of the diseases of poverty. The real problem is that poor
people are unable to obtain these treatments because of obstructive and
counterproductive government policies.

While there is a need for new medicines for a wide variety of diseases,
radical reform of the pharmaceutical R&D paradigm might have the
opposite effect to that intended, weakening the incentives of
pharmaceutical companies to continue investing in R&D and thereby
turning off the tap of innovation that has so far supplied the world
with the large majority of medicines. The consequence would be dire for
the health of people in both rich and poor countries alike.

This argument is made in full in a paper by International Policy
Network, entitled "Diseases of poverty and the 10/90 gap", which is
available for download at
http://www.fightingdiseases.org/pdf/Diseases_of_Poverty_FINAL.pdf. The
paper has also been submitted to the CIPIH, and can be obtained from
http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/submissions/en/InternationalPolicyNetwork.pdf

Philip Stevens
International Policy Network