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...
The elephant in the room at the WHO Executive Board
The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke harshly about the lack of Covid-19 vaccines in developing countries at the opening of...
Vaccine knowledge needs to be a global public good: Remarks to the World Trade...
Ellen ‘t Hoen, Medicines Law & Policy, at the World Trade Organization-World Health Organization High-Level Dialogue on Expanding COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing to Promote Equitable...
The European Commission says Covid-19 vaccines should be global public goods, but do their...
The European Commission has entered into advance purchase agreements (APAs) for Covid-19 vaccines with six pharmaceutical companies and is concluding negotiations with two companies....
FDA approval of injectable lenacapavir for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) opens the road to ending...
On 18th June 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of long-acting antiretroviral medicine lenacapavir (LEN-LA), for the prevention of...
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...
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)...
Remdesivir developed country price announced
On 29, June 2020 Gilead announced its global price for developed countries for remdesivir, a medicine that has shown some effect in the treatment...
New Dutch Foundation to Address High Medicines Pricing Announces Plan to File Complaint with...
The newly established Dutch Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation has announced its first action to address unreasonably high medicines prices in the Netherlands. The Foundation will...
Seven recommendations for sharing intellectual property, know-how and technology – report of Global Expert...
Negotiators of a Pandemic Treaty should heed the recommendations, published 15 July in the BMJ Global Health, to design a fair global system for...