Chilean Cámara de Diputados votes overwhelmingly to advance compulsory licensing of drug patents.

GiorgioJacksonChile.jpgThe Cámara de Diputados of the Chilean Congress voted on January 25, 2017 in favor of Resolution 798, calling on the government to implement compulsory licenses on drugs for cancer and other diseases. The vote was 67 yes, 0 no, and 32 abstentions. The resolution was put forward by Giorgio Jackson and six other members (V. Mirosevic, Miguel Alvarado, Karla Rubilar, Juan Luis Castro, Gabriel Boric, and Victor Torres). Continue Reading

EB140: Statement of India on the Report of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines

On the morning of Monday, 23 January 2017, India delivered the following intervention at the 140th session of the World Health Organization’s Executive Board requesting the “explicit inclusion” of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel Report in the “provisional agenda of the EB140 as a separate agenda item under item 8.”

In making the case for the inclusion of the UN HLP in the WHO’s Executive Board deliberations, India articulate the following:

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Spinraza: KEI asks DHHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to investigate a failure to disclose federal funding in patents

KEI has asked the DHHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate a failure to disclose federal funding of patents on nusinersen, a drug developed by Ionis Pharmaceuticals (formerly known as Isis Pharmacetuicals) with BioGen, and sold under the trade name Spinraza.

A copy of the 22 page letter to OIG is available here.

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SCP25: Closing Statement of the Republic of South Africa

On Thursday, 15 December 2016, South Africa delivered this poignant, closing statement at WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP). Negotiations broke down on the issue of future work, as the European Union and Group B refused to permit discussions of the Report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines at future sessions of the SCP.

According to the WIPO website,

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2016: KEI comments to NIST on Bayh-Dole Act Regulations

In November, NIST proposed to amend the regulations implementing the Bayh-Dole Act, 35 U.S.C. 200 et seq., which concerns intellectual property arising from federally-funded research, including 37 CFR sections 401 and 404. There were 15 comments, including a letter from KEI on December 9, 2016. EFF also provided comments. The other 13 comments to NIST were from Universities, associations or individuals taking the side of right-holders.

The KEI comments are available here.

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