Blog

The latest thoughts from Medicines Law & Policy partners.

Expanding local production is essential for pandemic preparedness. It requires, however, transfer of technology.

Madam co-chairs, delegates,  This very week, from 7 to 9 April the 3rd World Local Production Forum is taking place in Abu Dhabi. Actions towards...

Advanced Purchase Agreements for Covid-19 Vaccines: Do they ensure Global Public Good?

Advanced Purchase Agreements (APAs) were part of a strategy to provide upfront financing for Covid-19 vaccines and to accelerate their development and availability. Since...

We need a Global Vaccines Taskforce, not just a British or European one

The European Commission has been heavily criticised for its performance over Covid-19 vaccine supply to European Union Member States. Despite the urgency of the...

TRIPS, technology transfer and access to pandemic countermeasures: What the WHO  Pandemic Treaty must...

The scrambling for access to Covid-19 vaccines by developing countries has reignited the debate on the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)...

The Power of TRIPS Flexibilities in Medicines Procurement

The government of Malaysia has began to roll out treatment of people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).  Treatment will be a combination of...

How patents, data exclusivity and SPCs interact to extend market exclusivity of medicines: the...

Patents usually confer 20-year exclusive rights on inventions. Data exclusivity laws confer, depending on the country, 5 to 10 years’ exclusive rights over safety...

Cystic Fibrosis Medicines Wars in Europe

Monday 4 February, the UK parliament will debate the issuing of a compulsory licence by the government, called ‘Crown use’, for the cystic fibrosis...

Urgent collective action to meet the challenge of this pandemic crisis: a coronavirus related...

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, first described the present coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic on the 11th...

High medicines prices in Europe – do not Brexit the people

The issues of high priced medicines and problems with access to medicines have for many years been themes belonging to the realm of global...

Access to medicines amendment of the WTO TRIPS Agreement. Hype or hope?

On 30 January 2017 the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced the first ever amendment to the TRIPS Agreement under the headline WTO members welcome...