[Ip-health] UAEM WELCOMES UNIVERSITY ACTION TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO MEDICINES, DRAWS ATTENTION TO IMPORTANT SHORTCOMINGS IN UNIVERSITY-ADOPTED PRINCIPLES

[Anjali Dalal]

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***Contact: Ady Barkan*

*Phone: (917) 605-4345
*

*Email: **adybarkan@gmail.com***

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*UAEM Welcomes University Action to Improve Access to Medicines, Draws
Attention to Important Shortcomings in University-Adopted Principles*



Yesterday Boston University, Brown, Harvard, the Oregon Health and Science
University, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale and AUTM released a public
document entitled =93Statement of Principles and Strategies for the Equitab=
le
Dissemination of Medical Technologies=94 (available here:
http://www.autm.net/endorse).



In response, the student organization Universities Allied for Essential
Medicine (UAEM) released the following statement:



UAEM welcomes the Statement of Principles and Strategies published
yesterday. UAEM has worked intensively with universities on access licensin=
g
since 2001, and we commend each of the six universities and the Association
of University Technology Managers (AUTM) for their commitment to the
principles laid out in this document.



The Statement of Principles includes a number of important developments,
including commitments to not patenting in developing countries, to investin=
g
in research and development on diseases that impact poor countries, to
developing public metrics that measure the global health impact of
university policies, and to revisiting and revising the principles document
biennially.



=93This is a meaningful, important development and those who worked on the
principles deserve praise for moving the ball down the field,=94 said Ethan
Guillen, executive director of UAEM. =93But there are also some critical
shortcomings and ambiguity in the document that need to be resolved.  We
look forward to working with universities as they continue to strengthen an=
d
improve their policies.=94



The Statement of Principles does not go far enough in important ways.  Firs=
t,
it is unclear whether the Statement of Principles will ensure access to
medicines for the poor in India, China, and Brazil. Over 60% of the world=
=92s
poor people live in these countries, and universities cannot be true to
their public missions if their policies fail to facilitate low-cost access
to medical technologies there. This ambiguity also leaves unclear the
ability of generic manufacturers in these critical countries to produce
medicines for countries without manufacturing capacity if patents are
secured in India, China, or Brazil. Second, the Statement of Principles doe=
s
not adequately emphasize the important role that generic competition plays
in reducing the price of drugs, and thus enhancing access: history has show=
n
drug donation schemes and at-cost provisions to be far less effective at
creating access than generic competition.  UAEM will prepare a full analysi=
s
of the document in the coming weeks.



UAEM looks forward to working with the six universities, AUTM, and all
future signatories to strengthen this document in the months and years to
come.



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Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) is a coalition of
students at over 50 top research institutions across the United States,
Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.  UAEM=92s mission is to promote acc=
ess
to medicines for people in developing countries by changing norms and
practices around university patenting and licensing, ensuring that
university medical research meets the needs of the majority of the world=92=
s
population and by empowering students to respond to the access and
innovation crisis.
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