(More on government funded inventions here. Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here.) May 4, 2016 Betty Tong, Ph.D. Senior Licensing and Patenting Manager Technology Advancement Office National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases 12A South… Continue Reading
On Monday, 2 May 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened the 2016 open-ended member states meeting of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG). The 2016 CEWG is chaired by Bhanu Pratap Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The Vice-Chair is Tania Dussey- Cavassini, Vice-Director General, Ambassador for Global Health, Federal Office of Public Health, Switzerland.
On April 26, 2016, Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) delivered the keynote address at a panel discussion on drug pricing at the Center for American Progress, where he addressed the Federal government’s role in subsidizing drug development, ensuring affordable access at reasonable prices for U.S. citizens, industry practices related to monopoly pricing, and legislative solutions to promote rational and affordable drug prices.
2016:1 KEI Briefing Note
Transparency of Patent Landscapes
April 25, 2016
At an April 12, 2016 WIPO seminar, Reed F. Beall and Amir Attaran presented a paper, “Patent-based Analysis of the World Health Organization’s 2013 Model List of Essential Medicines,” which includes the following odd comment:
The World Health Organization (WHO) is convening an open-ended meeting of member states on the Follow-up of the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG) in Geneva, Switzerland at WHO headquarters from 2 May 2016 to 4 May 2016. The WHO has published the provisional agenda, the proposed program of work and progress report. Continue Reading
KEI submitted the attached letter to Secretary Burwell and Director Collins in support of the KEI/UACT petition that asked the NIH (or the Army) to use the federal government rights in the patents on the prostate cancer drug Xtandi, to remedy the excessive and discriminatory price in the United States. The letter calls attention to findings of an article from the the Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice, in which the authors conclude that a reduction in price would make Xtandi the most-cost effective option.
The text of the letter follows:
(More on government funded inventions here. Other KEI comments on NIH licenses are found here.) These are the April 17, 2016 KEI comments on the NIH proposed exclusive license to Ovensa, for patents on 5T4 antibodies for cancer treatment and… Continue Reading
This is a comment on the WIPO- commissioned report on the patent landscape for the WHO essential medicines list, published on April 11th, 2016. The report is titled: Patent-based Analysis of the World Health Organization’s 2013 Model List of Essential Medicines, by Reed F. Beall and Amir Attaran, both at the University of Ottawa, Canada. This is is the third collaboration between WIPO’s Thomas (Tom) Bombelles (Head, Global Health, WIPO) and Attaran on the same topic — the patenting of medicines in developing countries.
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