Knowledge Ecology International

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

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Andrew Goldman

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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The Draft Executive Order on Drug prices

Posted on June 23, 2017 by James Love

Attached here is the draft Trump Executive Order, titled “REDUCING THE COST OF MEDICAL PRODUCTS AND ENHANCING AMERICAN BIOMEDICAL INNOVATION,” as leaked by Politico today.

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HRC35: Human Rights Council adopts Right to Health Resolution

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Thiru

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 →

Comment on proposed Trump Executive Order on drug prices

Posted on June 20, 2017 by James Love

I wrote an 1800 word comment on the proposed Trump Executive Order on drug prices in medium, here. The bulk of the comment focused on the first of the “principles” and “talking points” reported by Emily Kopp in Kaiser Health News.

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KEI comments to USTR on the negotiating objectives for the modernization of NAFTA

Posted on June 15, 2017 by James Love

USTR has a request for comments on negotiating objectives for the moderation of NAFTA, docket USTR-2017-0006, and will hold a public hearing on June 27, 2017. KEI filed a set of comments and a request to testify, available here.

KEI’s comments cover an eclectic set of issues.

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June 2017 – WTO TRIPS Council – Statement of Brazil on IP and the Public Interest – Compulsory Licensing

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Thiru

As reported by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), on 6 June 2017, the World Trade Organization (WTO), published a paper tabled by Brazil, China, Fiji, India, and South Africa, entitled “Intellectual Property and the Public Interest.” In their communication (IP/C/W/630), the proponents called for a series of discussions at the WTO TRIPS Council on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest. Continue Reading →

Florida members in House and Senate Object to Proposed Exclusive License of Zika Vaccine

Posted on June 14, 2017 by KEI Staff

Yesterday, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer expressing strong concerns regarding the proposed exclusive license of a federally-funded Zika vaccine to Sanofi, stating that, “If the Army chooses to move forward with its plan to provide Sanofi Pasteur an exclusive license to sell this vaccine, it must first obtain assurances that the vaccine will be affordable to all who need it.” Senator Nelson is a senior member of the Committee on the Armed Services.

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June 2017 – WTO TRIPS Council – Statement of India on IP and the Public Interest – Compulsory Licensing

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Thiru

As reported by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), on 6 June 2017, the World Trade Organization (WTO), published a paper tabled by Brazil, China, Fiji, India, and South Africa entitled, “Intellectual Property and the Public Interest.” In their communication (IP/C/W/630), the proponents called for a series of discussions at the WTO TRIPS Council on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest. Continue Reading →

Apple obtains compulsory license on patents owned by WARF, by District Court Judge in Wisconsin

Posted on June 8, 2017 by James Love

On June 6, 2017, Judge William Martin Conley, a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, issued a compulsory license allowing Apple Computers to use a patent it had infringed, owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), in return for an ongoing royally. Apple was found to infringe U.S. Patent No. 5,781,752, titled “Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer. WARF asked for a permanent injunction to prevent future infringement. Continue Reading →

FOIA documents: In 2015 Novartis asked U.S. Dept of Commerce to Pressure Colombia Against Compulsory License on Glivec

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Andrew Goldman

In February 2016, KEI submitted a FOIA to USTR requesting “all correspondence and notes sent internally by the Office of the US Trade Representative as well as with Colombian government officials, other foreign government officials, and non-governmental persons or entities regarding efforts in the government of Colombia to issue compulsory licenses on medical technologies. Continue Reading →

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