Verinata v. Ariosa – compulsory license granted to Roche over prenatal screening technologies under eBay v. MercExchange

On July 19, 2018, the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, denied a permanent injunction requested by Illumina, Inc, and instead ruled that a forward looking royalty for continued non-voluntary use of the invention, a type of compulsory license,… Continue Reading

UNDP, Unitaid, and WHO caught in Big Pharma’s crosshairs

PhRMA’s Special 301 submissions are part of a yearly ritual to shape the “Special 301” Report, an annual review of the global state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement, conducted by the Office of the United States Trade… Continue Reading

Italy’s Draft WHO resolution: Improving the transparency of markets for drugs, vaccines and other health-related technologies

On 1 February 2019, Dr. Giulia Grillo, Italy’s Minister of Health, sent a letter to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), with an attached “first draft” of a resolution on “Improving the transparency… Continue Reading

TRIPS Council: Statement of the European Union on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: Promoting Public Health Through Competition Law and Policy

On 1 February 2019, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a submission (IP/C/W/651)by South Africa to the TRIPS Council on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: Promoting Public Health Through Competition Law and Policy. The South African paper endeavored to… Continue Reading

WTO TRIPS Council: Submission of the European Union, the United States and 9 other WTO members on Public-Private Collaborations in Innovation

On 8 February 2019, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a submission (IP/C/W/652) by Australia; Canada; Chile; The European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; and the United States to the TRIPS Council… Continue Reading

2019: KEI Comments Submitted to USTR Special 301 Review

On Thursday February 7, 2019, KEI submitted comments and intent to testify at the hearing for the 2019 US Trade Representative’s Special 301 review process. This year’s hearing will take place on Wednesday February 27, 2019 at the Office of… Continue Reading

WTO TRIPS Council: South Africa considers strict patentability criteria to address abuses in the pharmaceutical industry

On 1 February 2019, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a submission (IP/C/W/651) by South Africa to the TRIPS Council on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: Promoting Public Health Through Competition Law and Policy. The South African paper endeavors… Continue Reading

EB144: KEI statement on the WHO roadmap on access to medicines, vaccines and health products

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) delivered the following statement on the WHO roadmap on access to medicines, vaccines and health products (agenda item 5.7.1) on Tuesday evening, 29 January 2019 during the 144th session of WHO’s Executive Board. The WHO Roadmap… Continue Reading

WHO Cancer Report – Key findings

On 18 December 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a “Technical report on Pricing of cancer medicines and its impacts” (hereinafter referred to as the “WHO Cancer Report”). The mandate for the WHO Cancer Report emanates from operative paragraph… Continue Reading