[Ip-health] IP-Watch: Health Assembly Sets Up Drafting Group On Brazil IP Proposal

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

http://ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-trackback.php?p=3D626


21 May 2007
Health Assembly Sets Up Drafting Group On Brazil IP Proposal


By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen
The World Health Assembly on 21 May set up a drafting group to discuss
a Brazilian proposal that could give direction to ongoing discussions
on public health, innovation and intellectual property and potentially
reinforce the use of trade law for public health.

The drafting group is expected to start its work late on 21 May, and be
chaired by Namibia. The assembly, the annual meeting of the World
Health Organization member governments, ends on 23 May.

Meanwhile, Brazil also introduced a revised draft of the resolution,
which it presented on 17 May (A60/B/Conf.Paper No.3 rev. 1) (IPW,
Public Health, 17 May 2007). The revisions include words like =93should=94
to =93shall,=94 and =93laboratory kits=94 to =93diagnostic tools.=94

The draft resolution from Brazil focuses on specific steps that can be
taken by the Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health,
Innovation and Intellectual Property (IGWG), which is mandated to have
a global strategy and plan of action for boosting research and
development (R&D) of medicines for neglected diseases ready by May 2008
(IPW, Public Health, 20 May 2007).

The draft highlights the need for research and development priorities,
and emphasises that the strategy and plan should ensure the
=93unobstructed implementation=94 of the flexibilities found in the World
Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS), requesting WHO to take an active role in
helping member states make use of these flexibilities. These provide
some leeway for countries in applying the terms of TRIPS to areas such
as public health.

The draft also includes a call for WHO technical and financial support
for regional meetings =93in order to set regional priorities that will
inform the work of the IGWG.=94

Among the countries that expressed support for the Brazilian resolution
were the African region, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador,
sources said. The United States, Germany on behalf of the European
Union, and Canada said the discussion should focus on the =93process=94 of
the IGWG.

Switzerland said this resolution should not =93pre-empt the ongoing
process=94 of IGWG, which Canada echoed. Germany referred to what it
called =93substantive changes=94 introduced in the revised draft on 21 May.
The United States said it preferred a =93tightened-up process on this.=94

Some sources said that the revised draft included more of the original
language from the 17 May draft, and was not what was referred to as a
=93toned down=94 version from an informal meeting on 19 May.

This version contains a number of references to the TRIPS agreement,
such as: =93Stressing that the global strategy and plan of action shall
constitute an agreed framework of reference to ensure unobstructed
implementation of the TRIPS flexibilities and the Doha Declaration on
TRIPS and Public Health.=94

The new version also welcomes, =93with enthusiasm,=94 the commitment made
by the Director General Margaret Chan to the IGWG process last week. It
deletes earlier proposal to support pro-health management of IP such as
patent pools.

Avian Influenza

On 21 May, the drafting group on avian and pandemic influenza set up
last week was continuing work on a chair=92s draft, sources said. The
group is chaired by a Thai official. A source said the draft was based
on the debate and discussions in the drafting group. It was also based
on a background paper from the drafting group, which is based on an
avian flu resolution (EB 120/R7) agreed to by the WHO Executive Board
in January, to which text from an Indonesian-sponsored resolution and
one from the United States have been added. These resolutions were
introduced at the assembly (IPW, Public Health, 16 May 2007).

Draft Resolution on Children=92s Medicines Includes TRIPS

Separately, some intellectual property language has been introduced in
a draft resolution on =93Better medicines for children,=94 which was
published with the changes in a 21 May version (A60/B/Conf.Paper No.4).

Brazil suggested language referring directly to the use of
flexibilities in TRIPS, =93in order to guarantee access to medicines for
children,=94 replacing vaguer language referring to using, =93where
appropriate, existing international trade agreements that might impact
health.=94

Thailand suggested that the draft should recognise the ongoing work of
the IGWG and =93the need to ensure harmonisation of WHO=92s work on access
to essential medicines.=94

Thailand also added the WTO, World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) and the pharmaceutical industry to partners WHO should
collaborate with in this area, according to the new draft.


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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
voice +41.22.791.6727
fax +41.22.723.2988
mobile +41 76 508 0997
thiru@keionline.org