Dutch Minister of Health writes open letter to pharma, threatens to name and shame
"Dear Pharma," writes the Dutch Minister of Health, Bruno Bruins in an open letter in the daily newspaper the Volkskrant, "Last week two messages jumped...
Submission to the US International Trade Commission
On 17 June 2022, World Trade Organization (WTO) Members adopted a Ministerial Decision outlining flexibilities in the WTO’s Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property...
Time for new pharmaceutical-innovation models
The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most profitable on earth, expected to be worth $1.4 trillion by the end of 2020. Last year,...
Commission report on competition enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector
Guest author Jacquelyn D. Veraldi is Assistant Professor of European Law at the University of Groningen. Guest author Tais A. Ruiz Palacios is a...
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...
The Most Common Misunderstanding about Compulsory Licensing
The belief that a country can only use compulsory licensing in cases of public health emergencies is a myth that has proven difficult to...
Access to medicines amendment of the WTO TRIPS Agreement. Hype or hope?
On 30 January 2017 the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced the first ever amendment to the TRIPS Agreement under the headline WTO members welcome...
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...
New WHO-UNITAID briefing paper: Improving Access to Covid-19 Treatments
A new briefing paper based on Medicines Law & Policy research outlines the legal instruments available for countries seeking to access key therapeutics to...
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...