Something is going terribly wrong with the EU Compulsory Licensing Regulation
This week the European Parliament will vote on amendments to the Commission’s proposed regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on compulsory licensing...
Gilead’s sofosbuvir patent in India – options for global access to new hepatitis C...
Earlier this month the US pharmaceutical company Gilead obtained a patent in India for sofosbuvir, part of a treatment of hepatitis C that became...
Ensuring that intellectual property rights aren’t a barrier to scaling-up: the remarkable example of...
This week various international bodies are tackling different challenges in meeting the urgent problem of scaling-up manufacture of and access to vaccines for Covid-19....
The Waiver that Wasn’t: Is the pharma lobby responsible?
Systemic lobbying pressure from pharmaceutical companies – allegedly attached to threats to withdraw investments – may have been responsible for the watering down of...
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...
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...
Decision on intellectual property waiver over Covid technology on hold till 2021; what are...
Note: This article was edited on 19 December to include a statement from the EU supporting sharing of intellectual property, technology, and know-how transfer.
The...
Cancer Drug Pricing on the World Health Organization’s Executive Board Agenda
On Thursday 24 January, the World Health Organization’s 144th Executive Board meeting will kick off in Geneva. One of the agenda items is access...
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...
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...