Knowledge Ecology International

In a October 7, 2010 letter, Professor Michel Kazatchkine, the Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, has written to Dr. Jorge Bermudez, the UNITAID Executive Director, to discuss the Medicines Patent Pool.

Kazatchkine congratulates UNITAID for the announcement that an agreement had been reached between U.S. National Institute for Health and the Medicines Patent Pool for the voluntary license of the NIH patents rights on an HIV-AID drug, Darunavir.

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The European Generics Association has written to the European Parliament asking that patents be removed from the Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement. A PDF copy of their letter is here. The text in html follows:

MEP Mr. Gianluca Susta
INTA Committee
European Parliament
1049 Bruxelles- Belgium

Brussels, 5th of November 2010

Ref. EGA comments to the consolidated text on ACTA that reflects changes made during the

September 2010 Tokyo round1.

Dear Mr. Susta,

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The following statement is the oral intervention made by USTR at the WTO Council for TRIPS (October 2010) regarding ACTA.

Talking Points of the United States for TRIPS Council Meeting of October 26, 2010
Agenda Item P
ACTA

We would like to thank other delegations for their interest in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
Delegations will recall that the United States and other delegations have been interested in discussing the issue of IP enforcement at this Council for many years and so we’re pleased to have another discussion today.

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The following statement was delivered by USTR at the WTO Council for TRIPS Annual Review of the Paragraph 6 System on Wednesday, 27 October 2010.

This was originally published in the Huffington Post here.
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On November 2, 2010, U.S. Senator Bernard Sanders (VT-I) sent a letter to Margaret Hamburg, the FDA Commissioner, urging the agency to review the ethical implications of the 12 years of marketing exclusivity created by the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCI Act).

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The following statement was delivered on Wednesday, 27 October 2010 by the UNAIDS Secretariat and on behalf of UNDP during the Annual Review of Paragraph 6.

On Wednesday, 27 October 2010, Brazil delivered the following intervention during the annual review of the Paragraph 6 system at the WTO TRIPS Council. The Brazilian intervention followed Canada’s detailed explanation of her use of the Paragraph 6 system in the Apotex/Rwanda case. The Brazilian intervention voiced concern over the future prospects of access to competitively priced second and third line ARVs raising questions as to whether the Paragraph 6 system would be economically viable for generic producers.

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The following is extracted from China’s intervention made at the WTO TRIPS Council meeting held from 26-27 October 2010; this reflects China’s position on ACTA.

On ACTA

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On Wednesday, 27 October 2010, Canada delivered the three interventions to the WTO TRIPS Council related to the review of the Paragraph 6 system. The first intervention below details the Canadian experience using the Paragraph 6 system in the case of Apotex and Rwanda.

CANADA Intervention: (1) Experience using the System (Apotex-Rwanda Case)

As we recall, the 2003 WTO Decision on TRIPS and Public Health was an intensely negotiated decision that garnered unanimous support from all WTO Members.

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