Current drafts of the WHO Pandemic Accord lack a provision for access to knowhow/trade...
Negotiations are currently taking place at the World Health Organization (WHO) to conclude a new pandemic agreement by May 2024. The objective of the...
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...
New Database Documents the Power of TRIPS Flexibilities
Medicines Law & Policy has published an on-line database of instances of the use of TRIPS flexibilities in public health contexts, titled the TRIPS...
Strong call for transparency on medicine prices, cost of R&D at WHO Fair Pricing...
“Medical innovation has little social value if most people cannot access its benefits…. this is a global human rights issue,” said Mariângela Simão, Assistant...
Worldwide licensing of pandemic technologies is already current practice. The Pandemic Accord should protect...
The negotiations for a WHO pandemic accord are still in full swing this week. Talks are taking place behind closed doors, but it is...
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...
Why The Request By Least Developed Countries For An Extension Of The Transitional Period...
On 24 February 2015 Bangladesh on behalf of the 34 Least Developed Country members (LDCs) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) submitted a request...
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...
Chile’s Technology and Knowledge Transfer Bill passes Congress with important commitments on socially responsible...
On 9 June, the Chilean Congress approved a Technology and Knowledge Transfer bill (Ley de Transferencia de Tecnología y Conocimiento) that makes important strides...
Wrapping up 2023 with some noteworthy medicines, law and policy developments
Welcome to our 2023 end-of-the-year blog, our annual and highly-biased run-through of notable access to medicines events of the year that is about to...