[Ip-health] IP watch: WHO IP And Health Group Ends Meeting With Substantive Progress

[Judit Rius Sanjuan]

WHO IP And Health Group Ends Meeting With Substantive Progress
By William New
10 November 2007

/http://ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-trackback.php?p=3D820

/The member governments of the World Health Organization finished an
intensive week of negotiations on ways to improve access to healthcare
for poorer populations with significant progress on a framework. But
difficult work remains for the next session, participants said.

=93I=92ve been very much impressed by the level of engagement,=94 WHO Direc=
tor
General Margaret Chan told the closing session. At the secretariat, she
added, =93We are gearing ourselves to do more.=94

The Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and
Intellectual Property <http://www.who.int/phi> (IGWG) is mandated to
come up with a strategy and plan of action before the May 2008 World
Health Assembly. The aim is to address insufficient research and
development on diseases disproportionately afflicting the poor.

The next meeting of this IGWG was agreed tentatively for 28 April to 3
May. A secretariat document will be prepared on work so far. It will
include language that is agreed, bracketed (discussed but not agreed),
and that which was not yet discussed. Members can comment on the
undiscussed section until January, and the secretariat will issue a
document on these comments. Meanwhile, on the subgroup work on a plan of
action, a separate note will be prepared, and a two to three-day meeting
is planned immediately after the January Executive Board meeting.

Chan reaffirmed the WHO secretariat=92s commitment, and her personal
commitment, to the work of the group, and promised more to come.

At the closing session on Saturday, Ahmed Ogwell, head of international
health relations at Kenya=92s health ministry, set a serious tone for the
continuation of the meeting.

=93Let me remind us that the reason why we are meeting and exchanging
ideas is precisely because the current systems have failed to respond to
the health needs of the poor,=94 Ogwell said. =93Existing health products
are too expensive for the poor and the so-called Types II and III
diseases are not being given attention in research and development. I
hope, chair, no one will put square brackets around that phrase.=94 That
refers to brackets placed on negotiating text that is not yet agreed.

=93The health sector is the final common pathway of human endeavour,=94
Ogwell continued. =93If any sector fails, it becomes a health problem, be
it in transport, environment, trade or even politics.=94

=93It is also clear to us,=94 he added in prepared remarks, =93that current
proprietary regimes have also resulted in major health problems for
Africa and the world. Avoiding facing the real issues will not address
the original problems that led to the establishment of the IGWG.=94 Ogwell
further cited the importance of finding sustainable funding models for R&D.

Members both publicly and privately stressed the good spirit of the
meeting. Some questions arose over whether there were delay tactics by
debating semantics in order to extend the momentum in a process that
could lead to significant change in the existing R&D system.

A developed country participant said they are seeking a substantive
action plan, and while they hoped for completion this week, the highest
priority for those countries is a good outcome.

But a developing country official asserted to /Intellectual Property
Watch/, =93The fact is, it takes a great amount of time and effort to
remove the huge square brackets that the industry has placed around the
word =93health=94 and around the World Health Organization as the UN body i=
n
charge of promoting it to the benefit of humanity, above and beyond
considerations to do with trade interests or the interest of
intellectual property rights holders.=94

Industry groups say they share the concern about achieving substantive
improvements to health in poor populations. But a central issue is the
=93overall maintenance of the incentive model=94 based on patents, and
building on it rather than replacing it, said Harvey Bale, director
general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
and Associations (IFPMA).

=93I am fairly confident that the IGWG, at the end of the day, will look
at special means and not undermine the system=94 by instituting measures
that are less stringent than the World Trade Organization Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Bale said
in an interview.

As an example of complementary thinking, Bale cited section 11.02 of the
renewal of the Food and Drug Administration mandate passed in September,
which allows expedited treatment of drugs developed for tropical
diseases. Shorter time to market can help companies recover costs
sooner, he said.

But some participants said the meeting showed that support is growing
for more substantial change, though none said there is push to dismantle
the patent system.

While industry and developed country governments seek additions to the
existing system, such as more public-private partnerships, a consensus
portion of the text states that the initiatives taken in recent years
are =93not sufficient to surmount the challenges of meeting the goal of
ensuring access and innovation for needed health products and medical
devices.=94

This could be interpreted as =93members have agreed that more of the same
is not sufficient,=94 one participant said.

Sisule Musungu, who participated in the meeting as a WHO-invited expert,
said it was a good conference and that the IP section appeared to be the
most difficult. But the lengthy discussions that were held have led a
better understanding of issues and positions, which may lead members to
make a change in the system, he said.

=93I think they=92re moving in a direction where it could have a serious
impact on the type of research that this group is supposed to work on,
and serious consideration of new ideas that are proposals on the table,=94
Musungu said afterward.

Nicoletta Dentico of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, who
sat in on the negotiations, said afterward that =93the political culture
around these issues is changing,=94 and noted that the highest level
within the WHO has given it attention. Dentico said efforts would be
made to keep the momentum going on the issue until the next meeting.

Drafting group B adopted plan of action report with brackets to be
worked on again in January. The 9 November version showed progress on
plans to map global R&D to identify gaps of neglected diseases,
developing prioritised strategies =96 including traditional medicine,
increase funding, improve health research programmes, improving
cooperation, and promoting greater access to knowledge and technology.

In the closing session, the United States raised concern, seconded by
Europe, that some introductory text does not accurately reflect
discussion precisely. It appeared to be generally understood that
technical changes may be necessary to the text.

NGO Reaction Positive

=93This week the whole world joined the i+a [innovation+access] movement,=
=94
James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International, said afterward.
=93This is a very serious and important discussion on the need to
reconcile innovation and access.=94

=93The progress was slow, but the issues are very tough,=94 Love added. =93=
The
language is good. What I found impressive was the very serious way that
each delegation engaged the substance. They are trying to find the right
tone, and the right direction, and they are working on the most
difficult and important issues.=94

=93What is most encouraging is that governments have decided that business
as usual won=92t do anymore,=94 Michel Lotrowska, a campaigner at M=E9decin=
s
sans Fronti=E8res=92 Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, said in a
statement. =93They are open to exploring entirely new ways of financing
essential health research, in such a way that the fruits of innovation
are accessible to those who need it the most. One example is the
decision to pursue discussions on an essential health and biomedical R&D
treaty.=94

=93We are getting a sense that countries are pushing WHO to be more active
in resolving the access to medicines crisis, and take a pro-health
approach to intellectual property,=94 Lotrowska said. =93And governments ar=
e
taking steps to address the fundamental reasons why investment into
innovation for diseases of the poor is lacking.=94

William New may be reached at wnew@ip-watch.ch./

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--
Judit Rius Sanjuan
Attorney
judit.rius@keionline.org

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
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