Senate HELP subcommittee hearings on S.1138, the HIV/AIDS prize fund
Update: the hearing web page is here: http://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=2d5dda75-5056-9502-5d1a-2a40d8a92d51
On May 15, 2012, the Primary Health and Aging Subcommittee of the Senate HELP Committee will hold hearings on S.1138, the Prize Fund for HIV/AIDS.
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR AND PENSIONS
Primary Health and Aging SubcommitteeHEARING NOTICE
More notes on the USTR 2012 Special 301 List
The USTR’s 2012 Special 301 list was published on April 30, 2012. Below are some comments about certain portions of the Special 301 Report that concern access to knowledge and access to medicines.
USTR cites the “TEAM” approach to access to medicines
Continue ReadingUSTR’s 2012 Special 301 Report, focuses on largest developing country markets, and Canada
The 2012 USTR Special 301 Report was published on April 30, 2012. The report details USTR’s unilateral standards for the granting and enforcement for a diverse set of intellectual property rights, and singles out countries that USTR claims do not… Continue Reading
5 April 2012: World Health Organization’s Consultative Expert Working Group on R&D Financing releases its Report
On Thursday, 5 April 2012, the World Health Organization released the report of the Report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination entitled “Research and Development to Meet Health Needs in Developing Countries: Strengthening Global Financing and Coordination”. The 218 page report will take some time to fully assess.
The report can be found here: http://www.who.int/phi/CEWG_Report_5_April_2012.pdf
Unanimous Supreme Court decision invalidates Prometheus diagnostic test patents and reverses Federal Circuit decision
In a major patent ruling today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a unanimous decision in Mayo v. Prometheus Laboratories. The case, heard twice before the Federal Circuit (once before the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bilski and once after), has been closely followed because of its impacts on personalized medicine and potential implications for the Myriad Genetics case on the BRCA genes. The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and held that Prometheus’ patents-at-issue were not eligible for patent protection.
Who is Sally Susman, and why does she want poor people to pay higher prices for medicines?
Sally Susman of Pfizer leads the most lethal lobbying effort on drug patents and prices. She’s also a big Obama campaign fundraiser.For several years, Pfizer has been considered a hardliner among big pharma companies on international negotiations over intellectual property rights and drug pricing. This has not changed despite the company having had three CEOs in the past five years.
WTO Dispute Settlement: Ukraine files dispute against Australia (13 March 2012) on Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011
The following information is taken directly from the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement web page which reports that on 13 March 2012, Ukraine requested consultations with Australia under the WTO’s dispute settlement system with respect to Australia’s Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 which the WTO website noted imposes “trademark restrictions and other plain packaging requirements on tobacco products“.
Annotated Bibliography of Articles and Books on Innovation Prizes
This annotated bibliography of (mostly scholarly and technical) articles and books on innovation prizes is a work on progress. In the past few years, there has been an explosion of research on innovation inducement prizes, much of which has yet to be added to this list. People who want to suggest citations, annotations or corrections can send a note to james.love@keionline.org. More on prizes here: /prizes
2012
1 KEI Statement on India’s granting of compulsory license to patents on cancer drug sorafenib (NATCO Vs. BAYER)
The India Controller General Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks has just (March 12, 2012) issued an order granting a compulsory license to patents on the cancer drug sorafenib/Nexavar, in the matter of NATCO Vs. BAYER. A copy of the decision is attached below.
28 Feb 2012: Intervention delivered by India at WTO TRIPS Council on IP Enforcement Trends noting concerns with ACTA and TPPA
This intervention was delivered by India at today’s WTO Council for TRIPS during discussions of agenda item “N” on IP Enforcement Trends. The statement raises India’s concerns with plurilateral agreements like ACTA and TPPA and their potential impacts on public health, international exhaustion, border measures and digital goods and internet freedom.