[Ip-health] (FromGeneva) WHO IGWG on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property: Elements of a global strategy and plan of action

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

http://fromgeneva.blogspot.com/2006/11/who-igwg-on-public-health-
innovation.html

Wednesday, November 15, 2006
WHO IGWG on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property:
Elements of a global strategy and plan of action

FromGeneva
November 15, 2006
Thiru Balasubramaniam

Between October 5, 2006 to November 9, 2006, the WHO Intergovernmental
Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property
(IGWG) released five documents which can be found on the following
website. The Elements of a global strategy and plan of action
(A/PHI/IGWG/1/4) document states that the "global strategy and plan of
action, might include the following elements:

=95 prioritizating research and development needs
=95 promoting research and development
=95 building innovation capacity
=95 improving delivery and access
=95 ensuring sustainable financing mechanisms
=95 establishing monitoring and reporting systems."

In the "building innovating capacity section" one of the areas for
action is a recommendation to

     promote patent pools of upstream technologies or other mechanisms
to promote innovation of products for priority diseases in developing
countries.

In the "promoting research and development" section, one of the areas
for action proposed is to

     promote discovery science in order to identify, validate and build
up a sustainable portfolio of new products, whose development is
facilitated through appropriate legal arrangements permitting
unrestricted access to drug leads identified through the screening of
compound libraries for diseases relevant to the public health needs of
developing countries.



The "Elements of a global strategy and plan of action document" has
been conceived as a basis for discussion by the WHO Intergovernmental
Working Group when considering the 60 recommendations of the WHO
Commission on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Public Health. The
global strategy and plan of action,

     suggests some possible elements of a draft global strategy and plan
of action, but does not attempt to treat each one comprehensively. The
suggestions need to be evaluated from the viewpoint of their technical
and political feasibility.



Here below is are the reference numbers and official titles of all five
documents.

A/PHI/IGWG/1/1
A/PHI/IGWG/1/1 Rev.1
Provisional agenda

A/PHI/IGWG/1/2
Review of recommendations of the Commission on Intellectual Property
Rights, Innovation and Public Health

A/PHI/IGWG/1/3
Status of implementation of resolution WHA59.24

A/PHI/IGWG/1/4
Elements of a global strategy and plan of action

A/PHI/IGWG/1/DIV/1
Guide for delegates to the Intergovernmental Working Group on Public
Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property

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