Category Access to Medicine

WEBINAR: The Global Health Impact – Extending Access to Essential Medicines

[Presentation and Discussion with Professor Nicole Hassoun, Binghamton University - July 15, 2020 | 5:00-6:00 pm EST] In Global Health Impact - Extending Access to Essential Medicines, Professor Nicole Hassoun proposes a novel approach to evaluate the impact of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical companies. The approach: Addresses questions and relies on methodology that is interdisciplinary in nature, covering fields of study including economics, political science, public policy, sociology, geography, and philosophy; Emphasizes empirical evidence as critical to assessing the capabilities and capacities of agents and institutions and valuing how facts inform political theory, and; Considers the obligations of pharmaceutical companies and the case for a new kind of ethical investment and consumption to promote global health from the perspective of bioethicists and business ethicists.

Kenya’s Intellectual Property Bill, 2020, and Its Shortcomings in Adopting all Lawful TRIPS Public Health Flexibilities

[Brook Baker] Abstract: Given the importance of access to medicines to human rights and well-being in Kenya, it is appropriate to analyze whether Kenya has currently incorporated the allowed public health flexibilities to the greatest extent possible in its draft Intellectual Property Bill, 2020. This analysis will focus on the patent, utility model, and enforcement measures only as they are the ones directly relevant to access to medicines and other health technologies. The analysis starts with the premise that Kenya wishes to avoid granting unwarranted patents on unworthy inventions, especially with respect to medicines and other health technologies.

COVID LESSONS – COPYRIGHT AND ONLINE LEARNING

[Teresa Hackett] At the end of March, at the height of the global lockdown, UNESCO estimates that more than 1.5 billion learners in 193 countries were affected by country-wide or localized closures of schools and other educational institutions. The closures happened overnight and mid-way through the academic year, leaving no time for teachers and students to prepare. For education to continue, it had to move off-campus and online.

Intellectual Property, Innovation and Access to Health Products for COVID-19: A Review of Measures Taken by Different Countries

[Nirmalya Syam] Abstract: The rising incidence of COVID-19 will require all countries, particularly developing and least developed countries, to be able to procure and manufacture the products required for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Intellectual property (IP) rights over such products can constrain the ability of countries to rapidly procure and produce and supply the products required at a mass scale. This Policy Brief describes the measures and actions taken by different countries to address potential IP barriers to access to the products required for COVID-19.

Race Around the World for COVID-19 Vaccines

While the Trump administration trumpets Operation Warp Speed’s search for COVID-19 vaccine, it is unwilling to collaborate with the world’s scientists who share their COVID-19 findings and have pledged to make a vaccine affordable and accessible for everyone.

QUT Forum on Access to Essential Medicines — 15 February 2017

This forum was hosted by the QUT Intellectual Property and Innovation Law Research Program and the Australian Centre for Health Law Research in the QUT Faculty of Law to coincide with the visit of the Hon. Michael Kirby to the QUT Faculty of Law. It assessed and evaluated the recommendations of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Access to Medicines. Access to medicines is a critical issue in respect of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, the SARS virus, Ebola, and the Zika virus. There have been a number of obstacles and barriers in respect of access to medicines — including the high prices caused by monopolies, and the absence of appropriate treatments for neglected diseases.

Equitable Access to COVID-19 Related Health Technologies: A Global Priority

[Zeleke Temesgen Boru] Abstract: ... Even though the race to develop these technologies can be hailed as a pivotal undertaking, the development of health technologies alone may not expedite equitable access to the outcome of such development. Particularly, the lack of access to health technologies may befall if the conventional model of health technology pricing, which is derived from monopoly rights created by IP protection, is set. However, legal as well as policy tools can be used to overcome such hurdles and ensure global access to health technologies. In this sense, this paper discusses plausible legal and policy options that can help to accelerate access to health technologies targeting COVID-19.

Will Patents stop Covid drugs from saving lives?

[Ken Shadlen] The Covid-19 pandemic has sparked a global race of public- and private-led research to develop vaccines and treatments. Will patents hinder access to the products it generates? ... With regard to treatments (the dynamics around vaccines may differ), access problems will mainly affect middle-income countries. While low-income countries will likely receive drugs at discounted prices, and with governments and philanthropic donors covering the costs, middle-income countries will face higher prices. To understand why, let’s compare Covid-19 to HIV/AIDS, and consider one potential treatment that has advanced in clinical development and about which we have enough patent information for an informed discussion.

PUTTING PLEDGED IP TO WORK – IDENTIFYING IP AVAILABLE UNDER THE OPEN COVID PLEDGE

[Jorge Contreras] Today, the Open COVID Pledge launched a new feature highlighting some of the valuable intellectual property (IP) that organizations around the world have committed to the fight against Covid-19. Pledged IP covers a broad range of equipment, software, network and device applications useful in healthcare, containment, tracking, diagnostics, emergency response and social distancing. It includes 3D-printed respirators, touch screens that use ultraviolet light to prevent the spread of infection, a Wi-Fi enabled floating hospital, methods for designing grocery stores to ensure social distancing, a low-cost, single-use ventilator, software for accelerating disease diagnosis, algorithms for routing emergency vehicles through traffic, a drive-up booth for Covid-19 testing, and much more. The Open COVID Pledge offers a platform that enables holders of patents and copyrights to commit these assets to the fight against Covid-19 on a royalty-free basis.

SOUTH AFRICA: MORE THAN 80 ACADEMICS, RESEARCHERS AND TEACHERS CALL ON PRESIDENT TO FIX THE PATENT LAWS

[Afro Chic] More than 80 leading academics, teachers and researchers have written to the President surrounding the need to make changes to South Africa’s patent law, particularly around issues pertaining to COVID-19. It details their urges to the President to engage in a process of law reform- something to which his offices have already committed, although progress in this regard has been slow. The letter relates to both existing and prospective patented and patentable equipment that may be used to combat or mitigate the effects of the pandemic and includes products such as respirators and personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as diagnostic testing equipment and medicines.

The Case for Compulsory Licensing During COVID-19

[Hillary Wong] Over the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated industrialized countries in Asia, Europe, and North America. The outbreak will inevitably escalate in developing countries as well. While there is yet to be a proven cure or treatment for COVID-19, commonly referred to as the coronavirus, researchers are racing to test new and existing drugs in search of an effective panacea. As governments of developing countries ramp up efforts to fight the virus, they must take measures not only to contain the virus but also to ensure that COVID-19 treatments will be accessible and affordable following discovery.

Proposals for Copyright Law and Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

[Emily Hudson and Paul Wragg] Abstract: This article asks whether the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic justifies new limitations or interventions in copyright law so that UK educational institutions can continue to serve the needs of their students. It describes the existing copyright landscape and suggests ways in which institutions can rely on exceptions in the CDPA, including fair dealing and the exemption for lending by educational establishments. It then considers the viability of other solutions.