[Ip-health] UN health talks could lead to new ways of developing urgently needed drugs and diagnostics

[Adrienne.MacDONALD@geneva.msf.org]

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                 UN health talks could lead to new ways of=0D
             developing urgently needed drugs and diagnostics=0D
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Geneva- 5th November 2007 =E2=80=93 Health talks opening today in Geneva ha=
ve the=0D
potential to change the way medical research is conducted and ensure that=
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urgently needed products are developed and made accessible, the=0D
international medical humanitarian organisation M=C3=A9decins Sans Fronti=
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(MSF) and Knowledge Ecology International said today.=0D
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Representatives from Ministries of Health are gathering today for the=0D
second round of negotiations of the Intergovernmental Working Group for=0D
Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (IGWG).  They are=0D
charged with coming up with a plan of action to ensure new medical products=
=0D
are developed, and existing ones are made affordable.=0D
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=E2=80=9CThe R&D system is broken.  It is not delivering,=E2=80=9D said Dr.=
 Tido von=0D
Schoen-Angerer, Director of MSF=E2=80=99s Access to Essential Medicines Cam=
paign.=0D
=E2=80=9CTake tuberculosis, for example; because tests are either antiquate=
d or too=0D
high-tech, we don=E2=80=99t have any practical tool to diagnose TB in peopl=
e with=0D
HIV, who are precisely the ones most at risk of dying. And because drugs to=
=0D
treat resistant strains of TB are too weak, up to 20% of HIV uninfected and=
=0D
two-thirds of HIV infected patients with multidrug- resistant TB die during=
=0D
treatment.=E2=80=9D=0D
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Governments at the World Health Organization in 2006 created the IGWG=0D
following the release of a WHO report that said that intellectual property=
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is not a significant factor in contributing to innovation for diseases that=
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disproportionately affect developing countries.  Similarly, a Lancet study=
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concluded that only 1% of the 1,556 drugs developed in the last twenty-five=
=0D
years targeted neglected diseases and tuberculosis, although these diseases=
=0D
account for over 10% of the disease burden.=0D
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The IGWG represents the first chance for countries to begin building a=0D
system for medical innovation and access to medicines that prioritises such=
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diseases, develops needed health tools, and makes them affordable.=0D
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=E2=80=9CThis is an unprecedented opportunity to change the paradigm. The I=
GWG has=0D
been asked to de-link the cost of R&D from the price of medicines. This is=
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enormously important,"  said James Love, Director of Knowledge Ecology=0D
International (KEI). "We need new mechanisms and institutional responses to=
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move toward a paradigm of innovation plus access, rather than a set of=0D
poorly functioning trade-offs.  The big ideas in the negotiation are patent=
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pools, prizes and a treaty on medical R&D. They are also the most=0D
controversial."=0D
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Today=E2=80=99s model, where the cost of researching and developing medicin=
es is=0D
paid for through drug prices, means that drug development is steered=0D
towards areas where the profit rewards are the greatest, so diseases which=
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predominantly affect developing countries are neglected.  At the same time,=
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patents are used to sustain artificially high prices for medicines, so many=
=0D
in need are quite simply priced out of the market.=0D
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The UN talks risk being derailed by opposition from some governments.=0D
Although this meeting is based on a World Health Assembly Resolution which=
=0D
puts intellectual property on the agenda, the USA and the European Union=0D
countries are questioning an expanded role for the World Health=0D
Organization regarding intellectual property and health. Some governments=
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are also trying to narrow the scope of the meeting to a restricted number=
=0D
of diseases, whereas developing countries seek comprehensive solutions.=0D
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=E2=80=9CAs a medical organisation we need medical innovation to happen.  B=
ut we=0D
also need to ensure that new and existing medicines are made affordable for=
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all those that need them,=E2=80=9D said Michel Lotrowska, Campaigner with M=
SF.=0D
=E2=80=9CInnovation is meaningless if newly developed products remain out o=
f=0D
reach.=E2=80=9D=0D
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For further information, please contact:=0D
Adrienne MacDonald, MSF +41 79 293 0270 or +41 22 849 8909=0D
Spring Gombe, KEI +41 78 842 5180=0D
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+++++++++++++++++++++=0D
Adrienne MacDonald=0D
Communications Officer=0D
M=C3=A9decins Sans Fronti=C3=A8res=0D
Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines=0D
Rue de Lausanne 78=0D
1211 Geneva, Switzerland=0D
+ 41.22.849.8909=0D
+ 41.79.293.0270 (m.)=0D
www.accessmed-msf.org=0D
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