The Italian Exception – A personalised approach to accessing high-priced patented medicines
At the end of March 2017, the Italian Minister of Health Beatrice Lorenzin has authorised the importation of generic medicines. She did this with...
Covid-19 and the comeback of compulsory licensing
The Covid-19 outbreak raises many questions, including some we can answer using experiences gained in previous disease outbreaks. Here is one: how to deal...
Cystic Fibrosis Buyers Club Shows the UK Government The Way
The move by a group of parents of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) to set up a buyers club to gain access to treatments...
The European Commission’s compulsory licensing proposals are sensible but do not go far enough
An earlier version of this comment was published in Barron's on 21 July 2023. A Spanish translation of it is also available from El...
EU Review of Pharmaceutical Incentives: Recommendations for Change
In 2016, the European Council decided it was time for a review of the incentives that the EU provides to companies that develop new...
New reports offer evidence for extending the WTO Decision on TRIPS to Covid-19 therapeutics...
In February 2024, the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference will take place. WTO Members are expected to decide whether to extend the...
WHO’s Essential Medicines Committee takes aim at rising prices, adds new treatments for cancer...
On 1 October, the World Health Organization published its latest Model List of Essential Medicines (EML) and Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc). Updated roughly...
Dutch Minister of Health writes open letter to pharma, threatens to name and shame
"Dear Pharma," writes the Dutch Minister of Health, Bruno Bruins in an open letter in the daily newspaper the Volkskrant, "Last week two messages jumped...
Lessons for a pandemic preparedness treaty from previous successes and failures with treaty-based technology...
This post can also be downloaded as a PDF here.
1. Introduction
Scaling-up production of new vaccines to provide many billions of doses on a time-scale...
Drug Price Transparency Calls Move from South Africa to World Health Assembly
by Katrina Perehudoff and Jennifer Sellin
Over 30 states and 40 business and civil society groups debated strategies for affordable and sustainable medicines prices at...