Knowledge Ecology International

20 February 2015

In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/RES/26/28, the Human Rights Council convened the 2015 Social Forum at the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva from 18-20, February 2015 with a focus on “access to medicines in the context of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including best practices in this regard.”

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The Human Rights Council’s 2015 Social Forum will take place from 18 February 2015 to 20 February 2015 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

As requested by the Council in the above-mentioned resolution, the 2015 Social Forum will focus on “access to medicines in the context of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including best practices in this regard “. (Source: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/SForum/Pages/SForum2015.aspx).

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The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will host an Expert Forum on International Technology Transfer on 16 February 2015 to 18 February 2015 at its New Conference Hall. The event is open to the public, and the link for online registration can be found here: http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/registration/form.jsp?meeting_id=35562.

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(More KEI RCEP leaks here: /rcep)

Attached is a leaked version of Japan’s October 3, 2014 proposals for intellectual property for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

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Attached are KEI’s February 6 comments to USTR on the 2015 Special 301.

Our 7 page submission begins with this:

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Attached are KEI’s January 30, 2015 comments on the India IP Policy.

/wp-content/uploads/KEI_30Jan2015_Comments_India_IPR_Policy.pdf

This is how the comments begin:

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) has reviewed the document entitled “National IPR Policy” prepared by the IPR Think Tank. The document is surprisingly lacking in several key areas. In particular:

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Today, on World Cancer Day, there has been many great announcements and celebrations.

The FDA approved Pfizer’s new drug Ibrance (INN: palbociclib) for the treatment of metastatic (advanced) breast cancer to be used in combination with letrozole based on a 165 person trial at UCLA’s cancer center. (FDA press release here, ABC story here.)

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The first session of the 2015 World Trade Organization’s TRIPS Council takes place from 24 February 2015 to 25 February 2015. Like clockwork, the United States has tabled the inclusion of an additional item on Intellectual Property and Innovation. This marks the 8th time since November 2012 that the United States has submitted the inclusion of an additional agenda item to the TRIPS Council relating to intellectual property or innovation.

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February 4, 2015 is World Cancer Day. The rapidly increasing cost of cancer drugs should be broadly discussed. The Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT), a union of people affected by cancer (http://cancerunion.org/) is asking the author and co-author of the “Tufts Cost Study,” –a not-yet-released “study” used to justify high prices of drugs without providing data– to address the following questions:

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