[Ip-health] D Ravi Kanth's Geneva Newsletter: Bending Big (on World Health Assembly)

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
GENEVA NEWSLETTER
  Bending big
  By D Ravi Kanth
  The lead taken by Indonesia at WHA is a step towards ending monopoly
of the US.

Never before did the World Health Assembly (WHA) witness such fierce
battles as this year. It is the highest decision-making body to oversee
global health. The 60th WHA session, which ended last Thursday would be
remembered as a turning point when developing countries came voiced
their concern about lack of proper institutional arrangements to share
biological resources and addressing public health, innovation and
intellectual property issues. Faced with stiff opposition from the
United States, known for consistently opposing public health to prevail
over the primacy attached for strong intellectual property rights
(IPR), the developing countries notched some important gains.
  Until now, the WHA sessions were dominated by health issues over which
the US would set the agenda. Given the predominant role played by the
so-called research-based pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer,
Merck, in influencing the health agenda in the US, Washington
invariably turned a deaf ear to public health problems in poor
countries. Despite a rising disease burden due to HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria in many developing countries, the US would
always insist that nothing should be done to undermine the stranglehold
of IPRs on access to affordable medicines. It always maintained that if
IPRs are weakened, research-based companies would not plough billions
of dollars to discover new medicines. What is the use if there are
drugs to tackle the killer diseases but patients cannot get them on
time  is the argument advanced by health pressure groups world over.
Unexpected moves
  Two things happened at the WHA last week, which were somewhat
unprecedented. First, the developing countries got together
notwithstanding some minor differences among them  to shift the focus
on IPRs to the World Health Organisation, where they matter. At
present, the World Intellectual Property Rights and the World Trade
Organisation directly influence the international rules in IPRs.
Second, they actually succeeded in forcing a major change on sharing
the benefits of research conducted on influenza viruses or biological
resources originating in the countries, which had little say in the
subsequent development of vaccines.
  At issue is the linkage between virus sharing and the sharing of
vaccines and other health products including technology transfer to
enable local vaccine production. The recent Avian Flu was caused by
strains of an influenza virus that originated, reportedly, from a
southeast Asian country. Reports suggest that Indonesia was the source.
In fact, research laboratories in some rich countries have already
started developing vaccines based on that virus. However, Indonesia was
not even consulted and was unable to secure the vaccine developed by a
foreign laboratory or company on a virus that originated from its land.
Small wonder that Indonesia spearheaded the campaign at the WHA.
Sharing the benefits
  In what is called =93Pandemic Influenza Preparedness: sharing of
influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits=94, the
developing countries led by Indonesia succeeded in setting out the
processes for terms and conditions that would determine the sharing of
viruses between the originating countries, WHO Collaborating Centres in
Australia, Britain and other advanced countries, and finally the fair
and equitable sharing of benefits. The US was not happy with the
resolution since it provided =93ownership=94 or =93rights=94 to contributin=
g
countries over the viruses they shared. In effect, Indonesia along with
other developing countries secured its sovereign right over biological
resources, prior informed consent and benefit sharing.
  Brazil and Thailand stole the limelight in advancing the resolution on
public health, innovation and intellectual property, when the US chose
not to join the consensus. An Inter-governmental Working Group on
Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property will conduct more
work.
  India, which all along championed for public health to take precedence
over IPRs in global negotiations, chose to remain silent on this issue.
Perhaps, New Delhi=92s priorities seem to have changed in favour of its
robust pharmaceutical industry at the cost of tens of millions of
patients afflicted with killer diseases.

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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
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