7 April 2016: Keynote address of Minister Rob Davies (South Africa) to WIPO International Conference on IP and Development
On Thursday, 7 April 2016, Dr. Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa, delivered a keynote address at the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) International Conference on Intellectual Property and Development.
On compulsory licensing, in relation to voluntary licensing, the Minister remarked:
BIO, PhRMA and US Chamber of Commerce express fear of UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines in letter to Senator Hatch
In a sternly worded letter dated 18 February 2016, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) and the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) wrote Senator Orrin Hatch (Republican – Utah) expressing serious reservations with the United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines (UN HLP). Continue Reading
Xtandi March-in Request, links to news stories, blogs
Sanofi $9.3 Billion Medivation Bid 28 April 2016. Ben Hirschler and Leigh Thomas. Sanofi launches $9.3 billion fight for U.S. cancer firm Medivation. Reuters. 28 April 2016. Helen Thomas. Sanofi / Medivation: Deal-Making Déjà Vu Comes With Added Competition. WSJ.… Continue Reading
TDR releases report on a Health Product Research & Development Fund: A Proposal for Financing and Operation
On 17 March 2016, the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) released a 76-page report entitled, Health Product Research & Development Fund: A Proposal for Financing and Operation.
Briefing on Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performers
On Monday, March 7, 2016, from 1:45 P.M. to 2:45 P.M., the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) met with invited stakeholders in a briefing at the White House on the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances and the implementation package that was sent to Congress on February 29, 2016. The package was submitted for review to the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees.
Congressman Doggett Voices Support for KEI/UACT Petition to NIH on Xtandi
On Monday, March 7, 2016, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, issued a statement in support of the recent Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT) request that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) authorize the generic production of an expensive prostate cancer drug in order to curb an excessive and discriminatory price in the United States.
KEI comments to the Senate Finance Committee Report on the Price of Sovaldi
On March 4, 2016, KEI provided comments to the US Senate Committee on Finance on a report prepared by staff for Senators Grassley and Wyden that was issued by the committee on December 2015, titled “The Price of Sovaldi and Its Impact on the U.S. Health Care System.” Senators Grassley and Wyden asked the public to comment on various issues raised in the report. The comments we filed on March 4 included three major sections.
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.
Listserves
Notes from KEI’s testimony at today’s USTR Special 301 hearing
(An expanded, edited and better version of this is available in our March 4, 2016 reply comment to USTR, available here: https://www.keionline.org/node/2440)
These were my notes from my testimony for KEI at today’s USTR Special 301 hearing
Big market puts countries on the #special301 watch list