State of California considers AB463, a bill to require disclosure of drug development costs, and more economic data

This is a bill that will see legislative action next week in California, and the bill has some momentum. This is the first time I have seen any government make an effort to have useful data on the economics drug drug development and pricing, and it provides a model that other governments may want to built upon.

A mark-up on the bill has been scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, 2015, in the Assembly Health Committee.

BILL NUMBER: AB 463
INTRODUCED BILL TEXT

INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chiu

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

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Sony complains fundraiser: “smells a little bit like a Disney play regarding corp. tax reform”

This from the Wikileaks Sony Archive:

An email from Keith Weaver, the “Executive Vice President, Worldwide Government Affairs at Sony Pictures Entertainment, provide an illustration the practical art of doing “Government Affairs,” meeting “goals” for fundraisers, trying to avoid making “personal” contributions, and wondering if the donations were to much focused on another company’s purchase of policy” “smells a little bit like a Disney play regarding corp. tax reform”.

Jamie

From: Weaver, Keith
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 5:23 PM
To: Weil, Leah
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Sony referred to “WIPO treaty for blind as “stalking horse” to “denigrate the rights of copyright owners”

In the new Wikileaks archives of leaked Sony documents (Link here), there is a memo (https://wikileaks.org/sony/docs/05/docs/DECE/DECE%20CP1%20-%20ss.doc.pdf), which describes Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) concern over the proposed WIPO treaty for copyright exceptions for persons who are blind or have other disabilities. The memo, undated in the Wikileaks archives, but probably written in 2009, included the following passages:

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TRIPS Council (October 2014): India calls for de-linkage and innovation inducement prizes at WTO discussions on IP & innovation

In advance of the World Trade Organization’s October 2014 session of the TRIPS Council, the European Union, Switzerland and the United States made a written request to the TRIPS Council to discuss “Intellectual Property and Innovation: Promoting Awareness; Case Studies” under agenda item 12. This marked the 7th time that the United States tabled an item to the TRIPS Council relating to intellectual property or innovation.

In the context of these October 2014 discussions of Intellectual Property and Innovation, the Government of India delivered the following intervention asserting that,

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Social Goods

2013. Manon Anne Ress. Global Public Goods, transnational public goods: some definitions : How are global public goods defined? Definitions of ‘global public goods’ as outlined by major contributors to the international debate. (html)

Manon’s 2013 collection of quotes is very relevant, but here are some additional definitions. The discussions by Musgrave and Steiner are probably closer to how people actually define public or social goods in practice.

HRC28: Statement of the European Union- Cultural Rights (Response to SR Report on Copyright and Right to Science and Culture)

On Wednesday, 11 March 2015, Oliver Hall-Allen, First Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Office in Geneva delivered the following statement in response to the presentation of the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights (Farida Shaheed) on her Report on Copyright policy and the right to science and culture (A/HRC/28/57).

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Oliver Hall-Allen (blue tie, white shirt), First Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Office in Geneva

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HRC28: Statement by Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur, on Copyright policy and the right to science and culture

On Wednesday, 11 March 2015, Farida Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights presented her seminal report on Copyright policy and the right to science and culture (A/HRC/28/57) at the 28th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Highlights from the report’s recommendations include the following:

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WTO at 20: Symposium on the TRIPS Agreement for TRIPS Council Members and Observers (26 February 2015)

As part of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) technical assistance and capacity building program, on Thursday, 26 February 2015, the WTO Secretariat convened a Symposium on the TRIPS Agreement for TRIPS Council Members and Observers which brought together negotiators from the 1986–94 Uruguay Round to discuss how the Round introduced intellectual property norms into the architecture of the multilateral trading system. In addition, other experts were brought in to discuss what has happened since the introduction of the TRIPS Agreement, and what augurs for the future.

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The Uruguay Round- The Glory Years, Source: World Trade Organization

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KEI Special 301 supplemental comments: Compulsory Licensing not restricted to “Emergencies” or “Measure of Last Resort”

At the February 24, 2015 USTR hearing on Special 301, KEI asked to provide supplemental comments on R&D for the record, and KEI was separately asked by USTR to provide comments on online pharmacies, and by DHHS to comment on the relationship between emergencies and compulsory licensing. (The KEI page on Special 301 is here: /ustr/special301).

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