[Ip-health] Financial Times: WHO agrees drugs strategy to aid poor

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

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Such schemes could include prize funds to reward drug development,
advance commitments to buy new drugs or vaccines and patent pooling,
where patent holders share technology to provide a common platform for
further innovation.

<SNIP>

Public health activists broadly welcomed the outcome, the fruit of two
years of difficult negotiations. James Love of Knowledge Ecology
International said the WHO had taken =93a big step forward to change the
way we think about innovation and access to medicines=94.


Tido von Schoen-Angerer of M=E9decins Sans Fronti=E8res (Doctors without
Borders) called on the expert working group to move forward with
=93ambitious proposals to change the way essential health R&D is
financed, including for example through the creation of a prize fund
to boost the development of tuberculosis diagnostics=94.


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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/19b515e2-2a80-11dd-b40b-000077b07658.html

  WHO agrees drugs strategy to aid poor

By Frances Williams in Geneva

Published: May 25 2008 18:41 | Last updated: May 25 2008 18:41

Members of the World Health Organisation agreed a global strategy at
the weekend that opens the way for innovative schemes to promote
research into drugs to treat diseases common in poor nations.

Hailing the decision by the WHO=92s annual assembly on Saturday,
Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, said: =93This is a major
breakthrough for public health that will benefit many millions of
people for many years to come.=94

The =93public health, innovation and intellectual property=94 strategy
encourages governments to support new ways of stimulating research and
development into drugs, vaccines and devices for treating diseases
neglected by the big pharmaceutical companies because they do not
offer a profitable market opportunity.

Such schemes could include prize funds to reward drug development,
advance commitments to buy new drugs or vaccines and patent pooling,
where patent holders share technology to provide a common platform for
further innovation.

However, WHO members still have to agree on key aspects of the action
plan accompanying the strategy, including estimated funding needs,
sources of finance, and the contribution of new mechanisms to reward
innovation. An expert working group will be set up to finalise the
plan of action for approval by the 2009 World Health Assembly.

Public health activists broadly welcomed the outcome, the fruit of two
years of difficult negotiations. James Love of Knowledge Ecology
International said the WHO had taken =93a big step forward to change the
way we think about innovation and access to medicines=94.

Tido von Schoen-Angerer of M=E9decins Sans Fronti=E8res (Doctors without
Borders) called on the expert working group to move forward with
=93ambitious proposals to change the way essential health R&D is
financed, including for example through the creation of a prize fund
to boost the development of tuberculosis diagnostics=94.

The absence of a simple cheap TB test, at a time when the disease is
spreading alarmingly in conjunction with HIV/Aids, is seen as
emblematic of the failure of the patent reward system to encourage
development of affordable drugs and diagnostics needed in poor
countries. The WHO strategy bolsters the organisation=92s role in
advising countries on intellectual property issues related to public
health and envisages future discussion of an R&D treaty setting global
research priorities.

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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
thiru@keionline.org


Tel: +41 22 791 6727
Mobile: +41 76 508 0997