Author: Thiru

Today, on Wednesday, 10 June 2015, the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS Council discussed the LDC Group’s Request for an Extension of the Transitional Period Under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement for Least Developed Country Members with Respect to Pharmaceutical Products and for Waivers from the Obligation of Articles 70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement (Source: IP/C/W/605). Continue Reading →

The following statement was delivered by the European Union at the February 2015 session in response to the proposal by the LDC Group Request for an Extension of the Transitional Period Under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement for Least Developed Country Members with Respect to Pharmaceutical Products and for Waivers from the Obligation of Articles 70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement.

In particular, the European Union noted,

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On Tuesday, 26 May 2015, the following statement was delivered in Committee B of the 68th World Health Assembly on behalf of Stichting Health Action International and Knowledge Ecology International on the topic: Follow-up to the 2014 high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to undertake a comprehensive review and assessment of the progress achieved in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases.

Panel discussion
Compulsory licensing of patents on drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tests

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and Knowledge Ecology International Europe (KEI Europe):

DATE: Thursday, 21 May 2015
TIME: 17:30-19:00
VENUE: Kofi Annan Room, UNAIDS, Avenue Appia 20

Moderator:

• Ellen ‘t Hoen, Medicines, Law and Policy

Panel members

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On Monday, 18 May 2015, the Greek Minister of Health, Panagiotis Kouroumplis, delivered the following speech at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, explicitly calling for the de-linkage of the “cost of R&D from the final price of medicines” while highlighting the deleterious effects of austerity measures eroding public health systems, counter to the theme of WHA68, “Resilient Health Systems”.

Here is his speech in full:

In preparation for the 68th World Health Assembly, to be convened in Geneva from 18 May 2015 to 26 May 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) prepared a document (A68/INF./1, 1 May 2015), entitled “Annex to the Financial Report for the year ended 31 December 2014, Voluntary contributions by fund and by contributor). Continue Reading →

On Tuesday, 21 April 2015, the 15th session of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) considered the Evaluation Report for the Project on Open Collaborative Projects and IP-Based Models (CDIP/15/3). This project on open collaborate development models is based on Recommendation 36 of the WIPO which states,

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Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) will present the following statement on 20 April 2015 to the Open Session of the 20th Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines.

Statement of Knowledge Ecology International: WHO 20th Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines, with specific focus on expanding access to new cancer drugs, when available at affordable prices

20 April 2015

Dear members of the WHO Expert Committee and the WHO secretariat,

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