E-DRUG: WHO/CIPIH report published
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WHO today released its long-awaited report of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health (CIPIH). The full report (218 pages, 4.8 MByte! Sorry, no exec summary yet...) can be downloaded from:
http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/documents/thereport/en/index.html
(also in 5 other official WHO languages)
The press release is attached below.
Some dissenting views (minority reports) are available at:
http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/documents/thereport/commentaries/en/index.html
For specialists, who want to see more data: the WHO has also released 22 technical studies. A summary of the technical studies' summaries is available at: http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/studies/StudySummaries.pdf
Links to full texts can be found at:
http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/studies/en/
:: "The use of flexibilities in TRIPS by developing countries: can they promote access to medicines?" by Cecilia Oh & Sisule Musungu
:: "Case Studies: developing innovative capacity in developing countries to meet their health needs" by MIHR
:: "Economic aspects of access to medicines after 2005" by Padmashree Sampath
:: "How does the regulatory framework affect incentives for research and development" by Precious Matsoso, Martin Auton, Shabir Banoo, Henry Fomundam, Henry Leng, Sassan Noazin
:: "Health Innovation Systems in Developing Countries: Towards a Global Strategy for Capacity Building" by John Mugabe
:: "Intellectual Property Issues: Public-private partnerships (PPPs)" by Jon Merz
:: "Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer: Enabling Access For Developing Countries" by Anthony D. So, Arti K. Rai, Robert M. Cook-Deegan
:: "Implications of Product Patents Lessons from Japan" by Reiko Aoki
:: "Pharmaceutical innovation and the burden of disease in developing and developed countries" by Frank R. Lichtenberg
:: Pharmaceutical Tariffs: What is their effect on prices, protection of local industry and revenue generation? by Müge Olcay & Richard Laing
:: "Statistical Trends in Pharmaceutical Research for Poor Countries" by Jean Lanjouw & Margarate MacLeod
:: "Public-Private Partnerships for Product Development: Financial, scientific and managerial issues as challenges to future success" by Elizabeth Ziemba
:: "A Framework for Developing a Research Agenda for Diseases Disproportianately Affecting the Poor: The Cases of Malaria, Diabetes and Rotavirus by Alyna Smith
:: "Patents, Price Controls and Access to New Drugs: How Policy Affects Global Market Entry" by Jean Lanjouw
:: "R&D for Development for Neglected Diseases. How Can India Contribute" by Sudip Chaudhuri
:: "A Review of IP and Non-IP Incentives for R&D for Diseases of Poverty.What Type of Innovation is Required and How Can We Incentivise the Private Sector to Deliver It?" by Adrian Towse
:: "The Right Tool(s): Designing Cost-Effective Strategies for Neglected Disease Research" by Stephen Maurer
:: "Traditional Medicine: Modern Approach For Affordable Global Health" by Bhushan Patwardhan
:: "Traditional medicine could make Health for One true" by Qian Jia
:: "Using IP Agreements to promote the objectives of Public Private Partnerships in developing affordable products for developing countries" by Warren Kaplan
:: "What has been achieved, what have been the constraints and what are the future priorities for pharmaceutical product-related R&D to the reproductive health needs of developing countries?" by Peter Hall
:: Drug Regulation and Incentives for Innovation: The Case of ASEAN by Sauwakon Ratanawijitrasin
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WHO Press release:
PUBLIC HEALTH, INNOVATION AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS:
HIGH-LEVEL COMMISSION CALLS FOR ACTION TO ENSURE DEVELOPING COUNTRY ACCESS TO EXISTING AND NEW MEDICINES AND VACCINES
COMMISSION REPORT POINTS WAY FORWARD
Geneva - 3 April 2006: Today, an independent Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health presents its report to the World Health Organization. The report recommends key actions needed to ensure that poor people in developing countries have access to existing and new products to diagnose, treat and prevent the diseases which affect them most.
Over half of the people in the poorest parts of Africa and Asia lack regular access to existing essential medicines because they cannot afford them, or because the health system in their country is too weak. Apart from access to existing medicines, some health products specifically for diseases which disproportionately affect developing countries are simply not developed at all due to the lack of a sustainable market. The relationship between intellectual property rights, innovation and public health has been at the heart of debate on these issues.
The report of the Commission: "Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights" is the result of two years' analysis of how governments, industry, scientists, international law and financing mechanisms can work best to overcome the challenges.
"There is now global momentum to address these issues, and we have a unique opportunity to build on this. There is more awareness, more money potentially available, more utilization of scientific capacity in developing countries and new institutions such as publicprivate partnerships. The Commission report is clear that we must build on all of these to ensure that poor people in developing countries have sustainable access to the medicines, vaccines and diagnostics they need now, and critically, in the future. The report maps out the ways this can be done," said Mme Ruth Dreifuss, the Chair of the Commission.
The report was commissioned by the World Health Assembly, WHO's governing body of 192 Member States. WHO's Director-General, Dr LEE Jong-wook, established the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health in February 2004. The Commission included ten members, and represented the perspectives of government, industry, publicprivate partnerships, science, medicine, law and economics.*
The Commission formally handed its report to the Director-General today. It contains more than 50 recommendations which serve as a road map for tackling the issues in different country settings.
"We are grateful to the Commissioners for undertaking this difficult task. With this report, the Commission has built a solid foundation from which countries can move forward. I encourage all countries to give serious consideration to their role in addressing these critical issues," said Dr LEE Jong-wook, today as Mme Dreifuss presented the report.
*An intergovernmental working group of WHO's Executive Board will consider the Report at a meeting on 28 April. The World Health Assembly will then examine and debate the Report during its annual meeting from 22 - 29 May 2006. The Assembly will ultimately decide how the Report findings will be applied.
The report is available in six languages at www.who.int/intellectualproperty.
*The Commission was led by Ruth Dreifuss, former President of the Swiss Confederation. The vice-chairperson was Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, Director-General of India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Other members were Professor Carlos Correa (Argentina), Professor Mahmoud Fathalla (Egypt), Dr Maria Freire (USA), Professor Trevor Jones (UK), Mr Tshediso Matona (South Africa), Professor Fabio Pammolli (Italy), Professor Pakdee Pothisiri (Thailand) and Professor Hiroko Yamane (Japan).
For more information contact:
Charles Clift, Secretariat, Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health, WHO, Tel: (+41 22) 791 3168, mod: (+41) 79 467 3415, email: cliftc@who.int
Neslihan Grasser, Secretariat, Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health, WHO, Tel: (+41 22) 791 3632, email: grassern@who.int
Christine McNab , Communications Officer, Director General's Office, WHO, Tel: (+41 22) 791 4688, mob: (+41) 79 254 6815, email: mcnabc@who.int
All press releases, fact sheets and other WHO media material may be found at www.who.int
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