[Random-bits] CPTech STATEMENT ON WHO EB RESOLUTION ON GLOBAL FRAMEWORK FOR ESSENTIAL HEALTH R&D

[James Love]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
The World Health Organization's Executive Board just voted to send
the Global Framework for Essential Health R&D resolution to the World
Health Assembly in May 2006.  This is a big, very big, victory for
individuals, NGOs and governments working on this issue.

My Geneva cell is +41.76.413.6584.  This was our statement on the EB
decision.

Jamie

Begin forwarded message:

From: James Love <james.love@cptech.org>
Date: January 27, 2006 12:37:25 PM EST
To: Ip-health <ip-health@lists.essential.org>
Subject: CPTech STATEMENT ON WHO EB RESOLUTION ON GLOBAL FRAMEWORK
FOR ESSENTIAL HEALTH R&D

CPTech STATEMENT ON WHO EB RESOLUTION ON GLOBAL FRAMEWORK FOR
ESSENTIAL HEALTH R&D
27 January 2006

"Today the WHO took an important step forward in addressing the
issues of setting priorities, and determining how to share the costs,
for essential health research and development (R&D).  They sent
forward to the WHO's World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting in May, a
proposed resolution to create a new global framework on R&D.  It goes
beyond previous resolutions on R&D in several important ways, but
most importantly, it asks member states to discuss how to find a new
global approach to the sharing of the costs of R&D, recognizing that
this framework should be consistent with measures to protect
consumers from high prices.   The resolution recognizes the
importance of both public and private sector investments in R&D, and
also the need to address areas of priority and public interest,
including attention to diseases that primarily concern patients
living in poverty.  This is globalization from a public health
perspective.

"We are of course disappointed that the document is highly bracketed,
reflecting a divergence of views of key issues.  For this to move
forward, there will have to be a more positive engagement from
developed countries.  As the world leader in funding public sector
health R&D projects, the US should reconsider its largely negative
posture toward the resolution.  It provides an important opportunity
to have a legitimate multilateral discussion of who will pay for
priority medical research and public goods.  The European Commission
should also evaluate it's position, and see the value of a new global
framework that emphasizes R&D contributions rather than high drug
prices, as EU members increasingly struggle to provide their own
citizens with access to important new medicines.   It is admirable
that developing countries, scientists and public health NGOs have
provided much leadership on this issue.  But the governments with the
most resources and power have to signal they are ready to embrace a
public health approach to globalization.

"Some other areas of the resolution address issues of reforms in the
systems for protecting intellectual property, or bilateral trade
agreements.  These are extremely important issues, and highly
relevant to any resolution that deals with access to medicine.   It
is not obvious to us whether or not these issues will ultimately be
adequately or fully addressed in this resolution, or in a parallel
resolution.  Certainly the developing world is reeling from an
onslaught  of highly harmful bilateral trade pressures from the US,
the European Community and Japan, which will lead to higher drug
prices and predictable access problems.   The 2006 WHA should address
this issue, perhaps calling for a moratorium on such agreements.
This might be more effective if done in a separate resolution.

"The governments of Kenya, Brazil, Thailand and South Africa played a
particularly important role in moving this initiative forward, as did
a number of NGOs and individuals.  We will need to broaden the
support for this resolution for it to have a positive impact on
innovation and access to treatments.

JAMES LOVE, CPTech,

---------------------------------
James Love, CPTech / www.cptech.org / mailto:james.love@cptech.org /
tel. +1.202.332.2670 / mobile +1.202.361.3040

"If everyone thinks the same: No one thinks."  Bill Walton


---------------------------------
James Love, CPTech / www.cptech.org / mailto:james.love@cptech.org /
tel. +1.202.332.2670 / mobile +1.202.361.3040

"If everyone thinks the same: No one thinks."  Bill Walton



---------------------------------
James Love, CPTech / www.cptech.org / mailto:james.love@cptech.org /
tel. +1.202.332.2670 / mobile +1.202.361.3040

"If everyone thinks the same: No one thinks."  Bill Walton