At the 71st World Health Assembly, KEI will deliver the following intervention regarding the Preparation for the third High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, to be held in 2018.
11.7 Preparation for the third High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, to be held in 2018
KEI is concerned that companies selling insulin, drugs and therapies for cancer have been given a prominent role in limiting the discussion of measures to address the high costs medicine in connection with the upcoming High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases.
Globally, there is alarm over the soaring costs and high prices of new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics, as well as patented gene- and cell-based therapies. However, these topics are barely addressed in the preparatory documents. In the recent WHO meeting on partnerships and financing held in Copenhagen, the meeting was co-sponsored by drug companies and a foundation funded by insulin manufacturers. Drug companies were described as “partners” in dealing with access issues, as if everyone is seated in the same boat, with shared interests.
The WHO Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors is a reminder of the risks of collaborations with industry groups, and that seems to have been largely ignored in the context of the NCD negotiations.
There are many obvious issues relating to the pricing of and access to drugs and services used to treat non-communicable diseases, which should be addressed.
Governments do not have workable models for determining when prices for cancer, heart disease, diabetes and rare diseases are excessive, even though this is a well known and significant problem that needs to be addressed.
The issue of inadequate competition for biologic drugs well after patent expiration needs to be fixed.
Governments need to decide if new cell- and gene- based therapies, such as autologous T-cell immunotherapy or gene therapies like Luxturna, are medical procedures that are exempt from patent protection under Article 27(3)(a) of the TRIPS Agreement.
And finally, but critically, we need a path for implementing the delinkage of R&D incentives from prices.
Note: The Vice-Chair proposed, and the Committee accepted, that Non-state Actor statements be limited to 1 minute, half the previously allotted time. The statement below was the statement as delivered.
KEI is concerned that companies selling insulin, as well as drugs and therapies for cancer, have been given a prominent role in limiting the discussion of measures to address the high costs medicine in connection with the upcoming meeting on NCDs.
The recent WHO meeting in Copenhagen was co-sponsored by drug companies and a foundation funded by insulin manufacturers. Drug companies were described as “partners” in dealing with access issues, as if everyone is seated in the same boat, with shared interests.
Other critical issues surrounding NCDs include:
The issue of inadequate competition for biologic drugs well after patent expiration needs to be addressed.
Governments also need to decide if new cell- and gene- based therapies, such as autologous T-cell immunotherapy or gene therapies like Luxturna, are medical procedures that are exempt from patent protection under Article 27(3)(a) of the TRIPS Agreement.
And finally, but critically, we need a path for implementing the delinkage of R&D incentives from prices. This statement is supported by the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment.