[Ip-health] Reuters: U.N. health agency launches pharmaceuticals review

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

  By Laura MacInnis

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization launched on Monday its
first intergovernmental review of the pharmaceuticals sector to try to
find ways of making medicines more easily available to the world's
poorest people.

In their five-day talks, the World Health Organization's 193 member
countries are expected to look at how international patents limit
access by keeping drug prices high, and to highlight areas now lacking
investment, such as tropical and parasitic diseases.

A WHO commissioned report earlier this year drawn up by former Swiss
President Ruth Dreifuss slammed the existing drug development,
marketing and pricing system.

The issue is highly sensitive for developing countries who say that
patent protections make life-saving medicines inaccessible.

Few expect the WHO members to recommend big changes to the intellectual
property system, which the pharmaceutical industry says is crucial for
drug innovation.

But they are nonetheless expected to lay down an action plan in a
report due to be completed by 2008.

Ellen t' Hoen of the Medicins Sans Frontieres campaign for access to
essential medicines said the Geneva talks should clearly identify
current public health needs and priority areas for research and
development.

She said epidemics such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis would not be
stopped without new drugs and better diagnostic tests, and expanded
generic drug manufacturing and distribution.

  "There is not a global plan today saying what is needed in HIV/AIDS,
and the same is true of tuberculosis," t' Hoen said.

"The WHO for years has pushed the idea that we can stop tuberculosis
with the tools that we have, but it is becoming increasingly clear that
it is not possible ... These are the kinds of problems that really need
an international approach."

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and
Associations (IFPMA) said the WHO needs to clarify its goals in
intellectual property, and better define which ailments are considered
neglected diseases requiring more investment.

"Let's narrow the scope in a way so we know what we are talking about,"
Eric Noehrenberg, IFPMA's director for international trade and market
issues, told reporters last week.

Noehrenberg said public-private partnerships had helped to attract
investment to once-overlooked diseases such as malaria, sleeping
sickness and river blindness. Incentives for companies to develop
medicines for diseases with small markets -- such as advance drug
purchase commitments -- could also help, he said.

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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
CPTech
voice +41.22.791.6727
fax +41.22.723.2988
mobile +41 76 508 0997
thiru@cptech.org