[Ip-health] IFPMA use of industry front group "Civil Society Report" in WHA debate

[James Love]

Eric Noehrenberg is speaking now to the WHA on the CIPIH and R&D
resolutions, and he made reference to the "Civil Society Report on
Intellectual Property Innovation and Health," which was published by
the International Policy Network (IPN), (described by Source Watch as
"a corporate front group," http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?
title=International_Policy_Network) and he made reference to
"responsible" members of civil society, which I guess means NGOs on
the pharmaceutical industry payroll, or which which have far-right
views on intellectual property or drug pricing issues.

Maybe later Eric can explain how the IPR report embraces both the
Merck/Attaran/While view (page 35) that the low level of patents on
the WHO essential medicines list (EML) is "evidence" that patents are
not important for access to essential medicines, and views of
industry defender John Kilama (page 33), that criticizes the WHO
essential drugs list for not having more patented drugs on it,
because the WHO wrongly (in his view) considers the issue of cost
effectiveness.

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http://www.policynetwork.net/uploaded/pdf/Civil_Society_text_web.pdf
John Kilama, page 33:
Despite this, the concept of the EML is ill-fitted to the myriad
health needs of people in lower-income countries. Diseases such as
diabetes, hypertension, cancer, cardiovascular disorders,
gastrointestinal disorders, dermatological disorders and arthritis
are just as common in Africa as in developed countries. Yet the WHO
Essential List of Medicines does not provide medical practitioners in
Africa with sufficient choice for dealing with these diseases. . . .

The disease burden in lower-income countries is coming increasingly
to resemble that of higher income countries, especially in terms of
cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Plenty of new drugs are coming
on stream to combat these diseases, but the rationale behind the EML
denies patients in poorer countries access to these new drugs. This
is because the EML deliberately favours listing generic medicines
over patented ones. In this way, the treatments available to patients
in poorer countries do not match the contours of the disease
burden. . . .

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Jamie


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James Love, CPTech / www.cptech.org / mailto:james.love@cptech.org /
tel. +1.202.332.2670 / mobile +1.202.361.3040

"If everyone thinks the same: No one thinks."  Bill Walton