Blog

The latest thoughts from Medicines Law & Policy partners.

UN “Pact for the Future” intellectual property actions need revision to ensure innovation and...

UPDATE: From 22-23 September 2024, the Summit of the Future took place and adopted the Pact for the Future. The intellectual property paragraph of...

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...

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...

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...

The People vs. AbbVie

Today, 9 May 2025, is an important day in court for the Dutch Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation (PAF). In February 2023, PAF started a court...

Uganda tells ARIPO: No more patents for pharmaceuticals

Uganda has notified the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) that pharmaceutical inventions are not eligible for patentability in the country, Managing IP reported. With...

World Trade Organization Members Embark on Review of the TRIPS Agreement

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council will meet on 10-11 July. On the agenda is the review...

Dutch Court Orders AstraZeneca to Pay Damages in Patent Evergreening Case

Today the Dutch court made a long-awaited ruling in the patent evergreening case of health insurance company Menzis versus AstraZeneca. It found that AstraZeneca...

WHO Members meet to finalise the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing Instrument

In May 2025, the WHO member states adopted the Pandemic Agreement, but they left the work to establish an instrument for Pathogen Access and...

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...