Access to Medicine

KEI Notes & Comments at TTIP Seventh Round of Negotiations at Stakeholder Event

Posted on by Claire Cassedy

The 7th Round of the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Agreement began Monday September 29, 2014 in the United States. This round’s paltry effort at transparency, the TTIP Stakeholder Engagement Day, was held at the suburban 4-H conference center in Chevy Chase, MD. Although the information packet for the event included public transport instructions, the location was difficult to access for any attendees without a car, and even then, parking was extremely limited. Continue Reading →

Bayer’s rejection of request for affordable Nexavar for Fathi Helmi Aboseda (Egypt)

Posted on by James Love

Today we received news from Nina Mahmud that her father-in-law, Fathi Helmi Aboseda, has passed away in Egypt. Mr. Aboseda was suffering from liver cancer. Earlier this year, Nina Mahmud had contacted Bayer and KEI asking for help in finding affordable copies of sorafenib, a drug for liver and kidney cancer sold by Bayer under the trade name Nexavar, a drug that was extending and improving the quality of his life. The price of Nexavar in Egypt was $900 per week, and Mr. Aboseda had used his entire life savings to buy the drug.

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January 2013: Proposal for the inclusion of trastuzumab in WHO EML for treatment of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Posted on by Thiru

On 14 January 2013, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), the University of California (San Francisco), Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), Third World Network (TWN) and Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network: YP-CDN submitted a Proposal for the Inclusion of Trastuzumab in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for the Treatment of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer to WHO’s Exper Continue Reading →

KEI asks FTC to investigate Shire decision to abandon efforts to compete in US market for Fabry’s disease treatments

Posted on by James Love

July 15, 2014

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) asks the FTC to investigate Shire decision to abandon efforts to compete in US market for Fabry’s disease treatments. Letter to FTC provides evidence of possible conspiracy to segment markets, involving licensing of an NIH funded invention for use in Europe, in return for abandoning efforts to enter US market.

For More Information:

James Love, Knowledge Ecology International
Email: james.love@keionline.org
Tel +1.202.332.2670
Cell +1.202.361.3040

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67th WHA Side Event on Innovation and Access for Middle-Income Countries, Wednesday 21 May 2014

Posted on by Claire Cassedy

This Wednesday 21 May 2014, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Civil Society Coalition, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Oxfam, Health Action International (HAI) and Treatment Action Group (TAG) will host a side event at the WHA on, “Innovation and Access to Medicines and Vaccines: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for Middle-Income Countries.”

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Call for Action on Cancer Drugs by YP-CDN, KEI, and UAEM at 67th World Health Assembly

Posted on by Claire Cassedy

At the opening of the 67th World Health Assembly, today the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network (YP-CDN), Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), and Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) released a briefing, “Cancer medicines are essential in reducing the global burden of non-communicable diseases.”

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Resurrecting the Ghost of Høsbjør Past: Global Fund seeks to establish global framework on tiered pricing enforced by WTO rules

Posted on by Thiru

Informed sources have revealed that Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, is the brains behind an initiative to create global framework for the tiered pricing or in the Global Fund’s own words, “Equitable Access to Essential Medicines and Vaccines: Developing a Framework for Success”, enforced by the rules of the World Trade Organization. KEI has obtained this internal concept note prepared by the Global Fund which we understand is a work in progress.

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KEI Comments on Patient Assistance Programs as referenced in the 2014 Special 301 Review Hearing

Posted on by Claire Cassedy

Among the comments that KEI filed today in the 2014 Special 301 Review process were comments regarding pharmaceutical companies’ donation and patient assistance programs. An oft-cited claim by pharmaceutical companies and those lobbying on their behalf is that donations and patient assistance programs fully provide for those that cannot afford the high priced medications offered by the companies. Continue Reading →