New reports offer evidence for extending the WTO Decision on TRIPS to Covid-19 therapeutics...
In February 2024, the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference will take place. WTO Members are expected to decide whether to extend the...
The European Commission’s proposal on a new EU-wide compulsory licensing regime
Guest author Olga Gurgula is a Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law at Brunel Law School, Brunel University London
A recent international health emergency, the...
WTO Covid-19 TRIPS Decision: Some observations
This morning, 17 June at 5 AM the 12th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC12) approved a package of decisions and declarations. The...
Proposed TRIPS waiver a hollow diplomatic compromise with little practical impact
In October of 2020, 9 months into the pandemic, fearing conflicts over intellectual property (IP) related to medical measures to fight the pandemic, India...
With technology transfer, 120 companies in low- and middle-income countries could manufacture mRNA vaccines
Recent reporting from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has revealed efforts by BioNTech – the technology firm behind Pfizer’s projected $100 billion in Covid-19...
Wrapping up 2021 – some noteworthy medicines law and policy events
Welcome to the annual end of the year blog, our highly biased overview of noteworthy events in the field of medicines law and policy....
Landmark decision by the World Health Assembly to start negotiations for a pandemic treaty
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: World Health Organization (WHO) member states today decided to pursue an agreement that can better prepare the world to face future pandemics....
A second Covid-19 treatment will now be made available through the Medicines Patent Pool
The Medicines Patent Pool, a United Nations-backed public health organisation, today announced its second Covid-related voluntary licence agreement. The agreement will enable low-cost production...
Lessons for a pandemic preparedness treaty from previous successes and failures with treaty-based technology...
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1. Introduction
Scaling-up production of new vaccines to provide many billions of doses on a time-scale...
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...