Access to Medicine

US, AU and CA try to block WTO LDC drug patent waiver because PhRMA’s not happy enough with the TPP

Posted on by Thiru

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) meet this week in Geneva (15 October 2015 – 16 October 2015) to decide if the poorest countries on earth are exempt from WTO rules for pharmaceutical patents. The WTO’s TRIPS Council is expected to make a decision in respect of the request of the LDC Group’s request for indefinite exemption from TRIPS obligations on pharmaceutical patents. Continue Reading →

Press Release: Coalition for Affordable T-DM1 Asks UK Government to grant compulsory licenses on Roche breast cancer drug

Posted on by James Love

Press Release: Coalition for Affordable T-DM1 Asks the UK Government to Employ Crown Use Authority to Lower Price of Expensive Cancer Drug sold by Roche

CONTACT:

Diarmaid McDonald
email: accessdiarmaid@gmail.com
+44.7894.4557.81

Susannah Markandya
email: s.markandya@gmail.com
+44.7811.9573.12

Zack Struver
email: zack.struver@keionline.org
Cell: +1.914.582.1428
Office: +1.202.332.2670 (between 2:00 PM and 10:00 PM BST)

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Senator Bernie Sanders proposal to expand Veterans access to patented medical inventions

Posted on by KEI Staff

This is a video by Zack Struver about Senator Bernie Sander’s proposal to expand Veterans access to patented medical inventions. The video discusses both the proposal by Senator Sanders to give the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to use compulsory licenses on patents on medical inventions, including drugs, and the history of “government use” provisions in current U.S. statutes, including 28 U.S.C. 1498, which Sanders proposes modifying.

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Sanders offers amendment to create compulsory licenses on medical inventions, for veterans

Posted on by James Love

On Wednesday, July 22, 2015, the Senate Veterans Committee held a mark-up to consider several bills. During the mark-up, Senator Sanders offered an amendment, attached below, that would create a compulsory license mechanism in the Department of Veterans Affairs, for patents on medical inventions. (See amendment text below). The motivation for the amendment was a crisis in the VA involving access to drugs for the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

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Two page summary: What does the TPP do as regards prices of drugs and other medical technologies?

Posted on by Claire Cassedy

Attached is a 2 page summary of the main provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) that will lead to higher prices for drugs and other medical technologies.

A pdf version of the note is available here: /wp-content/uploads/KEI-TPP-Briefing-2015-2-A2M.pdf

What does the TPP do as regards prices of drugs and other medical technologies?

KEI TPP Briefing note 2015:2
June 10, 2015
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Sign-on Letter to USTR, be honest about impact of TPP on prices, access to medicines

Posted on by Claire Cassedy

KEI is circulating a sign on letter to be sent to Ambassador Michael Froman of USTR. We learned that in a USTR has been stating that there was no evidence that stronger intellectual property rules created barriers for access to medicine.

This is a shocking statement for USTR to make, and we are seeking confirmation and clarification of USTR’s assertion. The text of our letter follows below.

If you would like to sign on to this letter, please send your name, city and state of residence, and affiliation if any, along with contact details (only for confirmation if necessary), to:

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June 2015: WTO reports on India’s Section 3(d) and compulsory licensing provisions – WTO Trade Policy Review – India

Posted on by Thiru

On 2 June 2015 and 4 June 2015, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is conducting a trade policy review of India. All members of the WTO are subject to review under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). The TPRM takes place in the “Trade Policy Review Body which is actually the WTO General Council — comprising the WTO’s full membership — operating under special rules and procedures” (Source: WTO, Trade Policy Reviews: Brief Introduction).

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