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[Joint  press release, Link] The World Health Organization (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and World Trade Organization (WTO) will hold a technical symposium on “Innovation and access to medical technologies: challenges and opportunities for middle income countries” on 5 November 2014 at the WTO in Geneva.

The symposium will held at the WTO, Centre William Rappard, rue de Lausanne 154, Geneva in Room CR

A background note, draft programme and online registration are available here (English only). Registration is available until 3 November 2014, 12 noon Geneva time, and is mandatory.

This fourth trilateral technical symposium will look at some of the opportunities and challenges in middle-income countries. While they are catching up in the area of biomedical innovation and industrial development, they are also facing challenges in ensuring access to innovative health products for their populations.

Among others issues, the symposium will discuss: why rating countries solely according to their incomes does not reflect the public health situation for the majority of the poor; which public policies are available to ensure economic growth helps achieve universal health coverage; and how to promote innovation while ensuring access to new products.

The directors general of the three organizations will open the symposium. Participants are expected to be Geneva-based delegations to the WHO, WIPO and WTO, representatives of international and philanthropic organizations, civil society organizations and all interested individuals and organizations.