Washington Monthly Cover Story Highlights Petition to Lower Price of Xtandi in U.S.

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The November/December edition of the Washington Monthly cover story (available here) addresses executive actions to lower drug prices in the United States, in particular the use of march-in rights or royalty-free license rights in the Bayh-Dole Act. The story uses the case of Xtandi, a taxpayer-funded prostate cancer drug developed at UCLA with support from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Army, to highlight how those rights can be used by the executive branch to the lower the price of the drug. For more on Xtandi, see here: /xtandi. Continue Reading

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WIPO General Assembly 2016: Opening Statement of Knowledge Ecology International

On October 4th, 2016, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) delivered this opening statement on the occasion of the Fifty-Sixth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).


KEI General Statement – WIPO General Assembly – 2016

October 4th, 2016

Thank you Chair for providing Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) the opportunity to speak today.

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KEI Statement on United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines Report

On September 14, 2016, the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines issued its long-awaited report, which addressed the policy incoherencies between intellectual property, trade, human rights, innovation, and public health.

The report is available here: http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/final-report/
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NIH to taxpayers — we don’t care about high prices in US for Xtandi

National Institutes of Health Declines to Exercise Authority to Lower Xtandi Price
The National Institutes of Health will not use its rights under the Bayh-Dole Act to end the monopoly on the expensive prostate cancer drug Xtandi and allow low-priced generic versions to compete on the market.
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Colombia Issues Public Interest Declaration To Lower Price of Glivec

Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria issued a declaration that it would be in the public interest for the government to lower the price of Novartis’ expensive leukemia drug, Gleevec (imatinib).

CONTACT: Andrew Goldman, +1 (202) 332-2670 or andrew.goldman@keionline.org

The following individuals are also available for comment:

  • Andrea Carolina Reyes Rojas, Misión Salud: subdireccion@mision-salud.org
  • Dr. Francisco Rossi, IFARMA: francisco_rossi@hotmail.com

Washington, DC, June 17, 2016 — Colombian Minister of Health Alejandro Gaviria today issued Resolution 2475 of 2016, declaring that it would be in the public interest for the government of Colombia to lower the price of an expensive leukemia drug. The Ministry of Health describes this resolution as unprecedented in Colombia.

The drug, imatinib, is marketed as Glivec in Colombia by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis at a price of approximately $15,000 per patient per year, nearly twice the average income of a Colombian resident. Glivec has generated over $47 billion in global revenue for Novartis. Continue Reading

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2016: Chimeron Bio: KEI comments on NIH proposal for exclusive license for patents on cancer treatments

(More on government funded inventions here. Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here.) On May 18th, 2016 the NIH posted a notice on the Federal Register stating it is contemplating the grant of an exclusive license to Chimeron… Continue Reading