We just received a reply from a September 17, 2013 FOIA request KEI filed with USTR, asking for correspondence involving General Electric’s efforts to block the WIPO Treaty for the Blind. USTR provided 24 pages of documents, available here:
On Wednesday, 10 June 2015, Norway – a high-income member of the WTO with a GDP per capita of 100,898 USD- (Source: World Bank, 2013) delivered this powerful intervention supporting the LDC Group request for an extension of the transition period for pharmaceutical products. On the LDC Group’s specific request on extension until graduation, Norway said,
Following the Friday vote in the House of Representatives which effectively blocked movement (for now) on the Trade Promotion Authority, and more generally, slowed down the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, I was contacted by Dr. Harvey Bale, the well known former Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA). In an exchange on Facebook, Dr. Bale took favorable note of the outcome on fast track, and described the vote against fast track as “A very good day, Indeed.” I asked Dr. Continue Reading
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
KEI TPP Briefing note 2015:2
June 10, 2015
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This is a briefing note prepared for TPP negotiators, addressing a single but important issue, the standards for issuing compulsory licenses in the TPP. Continue Reading
To prepare for the upcoming 68th World Health Assembly (WHA), the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services held a Stakeholder Listening Session on Friday, May 8, 2015, from 10:30am – 12pm in the HHS Humphrey Building – 200 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20201. All Agenda items for the upcoming WHA are here:
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA68/A68_1-en.pdf
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On Friday May 8, 2015, the US Department of Health and Human Services held a listening session to solicit input on the agenda items for the upcoming 68th World Health Assembly. KEI delivered five interventions covering a range of critical WHA topics. The full provisional agenda of the 68th WHA can be accessed here.
On Wednesday, 11 March 2015, Farida Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights presented her seminal report on Copyright policy and the right to science and culture (A/HRC/28/57) at the 28th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Highlights from the report’s recommendations include the following: