Sens. Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders send letter to USTR condemning pressure on Colombia compulsory license for cancer drug

(More on Colombia here: /colombia)

In response to reports of USTR pressure on Colombia’s potential compulsory license for imatinib, Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have sent a letter to USTR objecting “to any efforts to protect the public health of Colombians in a way that is appropriate, effective, and consistent with the country’s trade and public health obligations,” and condemning as unconscionable “that any representatives of the U.S. government would threaten to rescind funding for Colombia’s peace iniative if a compulsory license for Glivec were issued.” Continue Reading

WHA 69: Colombian Minister of Health Calls on WHO to Support the Regulation of Drug Monopolies

(More on Colombia here: /colombia)

On May 24, 2016, Colombia’s Minister of Health, Alejandro Gaviria, made an intervention at the World Health Assembly that referred to the pressure Colombia has been facing with regard to the potential compulsory license for imatinib and called for the WHO to support members to ensure sustainable development through the regulation of pharmaceutical monopolies and promoting competition, transparency, and the rational use of drugs.
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WHO at the crossroads: negotiations to fund global R&D mired in eight pages of [bracketed] text

On Friday, 20 May 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) published document A69/40, Follow-up to the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination — Report of the open-ended meeting of Member States. This… Continue Reading

Background FAQ on Glivec (imatinib) compulsory license in Colombia

(More on Colombia here: /colombia) For more information, contact: (U.S.) Andrew Goldman, KEI: andrew.goldman@keionline.org or +1 (202) 332-2670 (Colombia) Andrea Carolina Reyes Rojas, Misión Salud: subdireccion@mision-salud.org (Colombia) Dr. Francisco Rossi, IFARMA: francisco_rossi@hotmail.com Frequently Asked Questions What is happening in Colombia… Continue Reading

Letter from KEI, Public Citizen, Oxfam America and Health GAP to Senator Hatch, regarding Colombia Compulsory License

Attached is a letter that KEI, Public Citizen, Oxfam America and Health GAP have sent to Senator Hatch, via the Senate Finance Committee, objecting to the pressure his office has put on Colombia over a compulsory license on patents held by Novartis for the cancer drug Gleevec. This refers to the accounts of pressure from Hatch’s office that are described in two letters from the Colombia Embassy in Washington, dated April 27 and April 28, which were recently leaked. Continue Reading

13 non-profits urge Senate HELP Committee to block floor amendments to 21st Century Cures Act counterpart

Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) presents a legislative package of healthcare reforms to the Senate floor for an up-or-down vote, 13 consumer, patient and health non-profit groups sent a letter to HELP Chairman and Ranking Member to ensure that the final legislative package includes only those bills that the HELP Committee reviewed in mark-up sessions.

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122 experts defend Colombia’s right to issue compulsory license on imatinib in face of U.S. pressure

(More on Colombia here: /colombia)

On May 16, 2016, 122 health, trade, and intellectual property experts defended the Colombian government’s right to issue a compulsory license on imatinib, an expensive leukemia drug that is being sold at a high price by the Swiss drug company Novartis, in a letter to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

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2016: MeiraGTx, NIH license of patents on AAV­Mediated Aquaporin Gene Transfer To Treat Sjögren’s Syndrome

(More on government funded inventions here. Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here.) May 16th, 2016 Sally Hu, Ph.D., M.B.A., Senior Licensing and Patenting Manager, Office of Technology Transfer and Innovation Access, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial… Continue Reading