2017: Senator Angus King amendment to National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on federally funded drugs, vaccines

Angus_King,_official_portrait,_113th_Congress-800x.jpgSenator Angus King proposed an amendment to National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would require the Department of Defense (DoD) to authorize third parties to use inventions that benefited from DoD research funding, when prices exceed the median price charge in the seven largest economies with per capita incomes at least half the per capita income in the United States.

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SCP26: Statement of Knowledge Ecology International on Patents and Health (July 4th, 2017)

On July 4th, 2017, Andrew Goldman delivered Knowledge Ecology International’s intervention on patents at health at the 26th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP).

KEI Statement on Patents and Health
WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents – 26th Session

July 4th, 2017

Since the African Group and Development Agenda Group first tabled their proposal on a work program on patents and health in May 2011, much has happened.

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Groups, individuals write to Senator Wyden, appalled at pressure on India over drug patents

On June 23, 2017, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representatives Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Richard Neal (D-MA) wrote to President Trump about “trade and investment barriers” in India. The four members of Congress are respectively the chair and ranking members of the Senate Finance and the House Ways and Means Committee.

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Brussels Principles on Medication Sales over the Internet

On March 31st, KEI joined Prescription Justice, EFF, and Public Citizen at RightsCon 2017 to discuss the issues of sales of medication over the Internet. I was in attendance on KEI’s behalf; Gabe Levitt represented Prescription Justice; Jeremy Malcolm presented for EFF; and Burcu Kilic was there for Public Citizen. It was one of the few panels at RightsCon dedicated to medicines/health.

After the session, the panelists convened to draft an agreement on a series of overarching principles that may help guide policy and shape the conversation.

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Save The Date – 5 July 2017 – KEI side event @ WIPO SCP 26 – Compulsory licensing of patents in the United States

Knowledge Ecology International: Compulsory licensing of patents in the United States
DATE: Wednesday, 5 July 2017
TIME: 1 PM to 3 PM
VENUE: Room NB0.107, World Intellectual Property Organization

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) cordially invites you to attend our side event during deliberations at the Twenty-Sixth Session of Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

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Six Senators Call on Army to Hold Public Hearing on Proposed Exclusive License of Zika Vaccine to Sanofi

Today, six Senators, including Sen. Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Markey (D-MA), Sen. Brown (D-OH), Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sen. Angus King (I-ME), sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer requesting a public hearing on the proposed exclusive license of a federally-funded Zika vaccine to the French multinational, Sanofi, and saying that “it is imperative that any forthcoming vaccine is accessible and affordable for all, especially given the significant taxpayer investment to date.”

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HRC35: Human Rights Council adopts Right to Health Resolution

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) convened its 35th session from 6 June 2017 to 23 June 2017. During HRC35 (which took place in Room XX of the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva), a group of 21 countries tabled a resolution entitled, “The right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. Continue Reading