WTO TRIPS Council (informal): South Africa’s interventions on COVID-19, TRIPS flexibilities, and domestic manufacturing capacity

On Friday, 19 June 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) convened an informal virtual Open-ended Meeting of the TRIPS Council. . The following statements were delivered by South Africa at the virtual open-ended informal meeting of the TRIPS Council. In… Continue Reading

While a major victory for Australia and public health, the WTO Appellate Body failed to address the legal status of the Doha Declaration

On June 9, 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body circulated its reports relating to the Australia – Tobacco Plain Packaging cases. The reports issued the decision regarding the appeals brought by Honduras and the Dominican Republic against the… Continue Reading

Open letter asking 37 WTO Members to declare themselves eligible to import medicines manufactured under compulsory license in another country, under 31bis of TRIPS Agreement

Background In 2001, the World Trade Organization (WTO) began negotiations on the rules regarding patents and access to medicine. While several issues were clarified and resolved in the November 2001 “Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health”, the negotiations took… Continue Reading

WTO TRIPS Council discussions on the transparency of R&D costs and the pricing of medicines: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

In February 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) de-restricted the minutes of the TRIPS Council’s October 2019 session. While the official minutes (IP/C/M/93/Add.1) were circulated to WTO members on 9 December 2019, the October 2019 minutes were only available to… Continue Reading

Trilateral symposium: WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo highlights the opportunities and challenges faced in providing access to CAR T

On Thursday, 31 October 2019, the World Trade Organization (WTO) hosted the eighth trilateral symposium jointly convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The theme of this year’s symposium was ” “Cutting-Edge Health… Continue Reading

WTO TRIPS Council (October 2019): Statement of South Africa on the Transparency of R&D Costs and Pricing of Medicines and Health Technology

On Friday, 18 October 2019, South Africa delivered the following statement at the WTO TRIPS Council on transparency of R&D Costs and Pricing of Medicines and Health Technology. Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: R&D Costs and Pricing of Medicines… Continue Reading

WTO TRIPS Council: Submission of South Africa on R&D Costs and Pricing of Medicines and Health Technologies

On Friday, 4 October 2019, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a submission by the Republic of South Africa on “R&D Costs and Pricing of Medicines and Health Technologies” (IP/C/W/659). In this paper, South Africa requested the WTO TRIPS Council… Continue Reading

WTO TRIPS Council: Submission of the European Union, the United States and 9 other WTO members on Public-Private Collaborations in Innovation

On 8 February 2019, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a submission (IP/C/W/652) by Australia; Canada; Chile; The European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; and the United States to the TRIPS Council… Continue Reading