Blog

The latest thoughts from Medicines Law & Policy partners.

Written remarks submitted to the OHCHR following the Expert Workshop on the key challenges...

This blog was submitted by Dr. Katrina Perehudoff, Law Centre for Health and Rights at the University of Amsterdam, and Medicines Law & Policy,...

Medicines Law & Policy statement at WHO PABS negotiations (IGWG 5)

Co-chairs, Thank you for the opportunity to say a few words.  My comments address issues related to technology transfer (TT), a topic we have been...

The European Commission’s proposal for an EU wide compulsory licensing mechanism

In 2006 the European Generics Association was seeking clarification from the European Commission on whether generic versions of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) could be supplied to...

What is the ‘know-how gap’ problem and how might it impact scaling up production...

This entire article is also available as a PDF by clicking here. 1. Introduction. How relevant are concerns about intellectual property rights causing problems for...

Price, profit and the Covid-19 health technology pool: The example of remdesivir

We cannot yet know the precise trajectory of the Covid-19 pandemic, nor which therapies or vaccines will eventually prove most effective in its treatment...

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...

Corbyn’s Compulsory Licenses. Will they work?

On 24 September, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the UK Labour party, announced a series of measures to bring medicines pricing in check and to...

Fair Medicines Pricing requires addressing monopolies and increasing transparency in pharmaceutical markets

The 4th WHO Fair Pricing Forum took place from 6 - 8 February 2024. Ellen 't Hoen spoke at the opening plenary. Below are...

Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation meets AbbVie in court, looking to advance its pricing case

“The value of a human life is infinite, but unfortunately our healthcare budget is not,” said former Dutch Health Minister Bruno Bruins, quoted by...

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...