Colombia takes an important step in defining the public interest in compulsory licensing case

(More on Colombia here: /colombia)

Andrea Carolina Reyes Rojas informs us that a committee appointed to consider a request for a compulsory license on the leukemia drug Imatinib has decided that there are public interest reasons to do so.

A copy of the decision is available here. Andrew Goldman shares some thoughts and context here.

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Colombia Technical Committee Recommends Declaration that a Compulsory License on Imatinib (Gleevec) Would Be in Public Interest

(More on Colombia here: /colombia)

In Colombia, a technical committee has issued a recommendation that a declaration be made that a compulsory license on imatinib (Gleevec) would be in the public interest. Under Colombian law, this is an important intermediary step prior to the actual grant of a compulsory license.

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KEI submissions to the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Access to Medicine

Attached below are the four submissions for which KEI was the lead author to the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel (HLP) on Access to Medicine.

  1. “The Need for Global Negotiations on Agreements to Fund R&D within the Context of a Progressive De-linking of R&D Costs from Product Prices”. Supported by 12 organizations; 1 individual; 3 Members of European Parliament.
  2. “Increasing the Transparency of Markets for Drugs, Vaccines, Diagnostics and other Medical Technologies”. Supported by 17 organizations; 2 individuals; 3 Members of European Parliament.
  3. Continue Reading

Industry USTR filings refer to Indian Government agreement to block compulsory licenses

The dearth of recent compulsory licenses out of India has led to speculation that the Government has made an agreement not to issue such licenses.

On reviewing submissions for the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s upcoming 2016 Special 301 Review, several industry documents confirm that such an agreement exists.

The submission by the United States Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center states:

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KEI intervention: TTIP Round 12 – Stakeholder events , Brussels (24 February 2016)

KEI intervention: TTIP Stakeholder events Round 12, Brussels (24 February 2016)

A Positive Agenda for TTIP – What we would like to see in the TTIP that would expand access to knowledge?

1) Marrakesh Treaty ratification

The TTIP should include an obligation to ratify and to implement the WIPO Marrakesh Treaty for Persons Who Are Blind for Otherwise Disabled, in order to expand access to accessible works to persons with disabilities in the European Union and the United States, as well as in other countries.

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2016: AltraTech, KEI comments on NIH proposal for exclusive licenses for vitro diagnostics patents

Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here: /nih-licenses

February 22, 2016

Patrick McCue, Ph.D.
Senior Licensing and Patenting Manager
Technology Advancement Office
The National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
12A South Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
via email: patrick.mccue@nih.gov

Dear Dr. McCue:

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Equitable Access Initiative (EAI), 1st intervention

I am in a meeting of the Equitable Access Initiative (EAI), which is considering new ways of measuring development and/or health needs, in the context of the priority setting by donors. I am a member of the Expert Panel, and this was my intervention in the morning session:

The presentations by John McArthur and Dominik Zotti were excellent, and the work of the four expert groups is a very useful contribution for those struggling with the challenge of setting priorities for aid.

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