On 17 May 2011, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) organized a Briefing on Patents and Health at WIPO’s 16h session of the Standing Committee on Patents (SCP). As the WIPO SCP is set to consider the agenda item of “Patents and Health” for the first time, KEI assembled a panel of experts to discuss remedies to address the shrinking policy space enshrined in the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in the context of bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements including the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). The agenda item on patents and health is expected to be discussed on Wednesday, 18 May 2011 when the African Group will present its submission to the patent committee.
The briefing featured presentations from Professor Carlos Correa, Director, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies on Industrial Property and Economics Law, University of Buenos Aires and Adviser, South Centre, Judit Rius Sanjuan, U.S. Manager of the Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, Medecins Sans Frontieres/ Doctors Without Borders , James Love, Director, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and a response from Mohamed Omar Gad, LL.M., Ph.D., Counsellor Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva.
Representatives of countries that attended KEI’s briefing on patents and health include: Australia, Canada, Chile, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Sweden, Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States of America and Uruguay. Non-state actors that attended included Oxfam, MSF, KEI, UAEM, Medicines Patent Pool, Sidley Austin, International Chamber of Commerce, ICTSD, ITSSD, PHM, AMSA, Dalberg, South Centre, ALIFAR, HAI, DNDi, WIPO and students from Duke and LSHTM.
Attached are slides from three (South Centre, MSF and KEI) experts.