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...
Vaccine knowledge needs to be a global public good: Remarks to the World Trade...
Ellen ‘t Hoen, Medicines Law & Policy, at the World Trade Organization-World Health Organization High-Level Dialogue on Expanding COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing to Promote Equitable...
Advanced Purchase Agreements for Covid-19 Vaccines: Do they ensure Global Public Good?
Advanced Purchase Agreements (APAs) were part of a strategy to provide upfront financing for Covid-19 vaccines and to accelerate their development and availability. Since...
Covid shows the world it needs new rules to deal with pandemics
The World Health Assembly, the World Health Organization (WHO)'s annual decision-making meeting, begins next week and will run from 24 May - 1 June....
Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response: Uneven access to vaccination is pre-eminent problem
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR) today released its findings in a report titled “Covid-19: Make it the last pandemic,” laying...
US supports the Covid-19 TRIPS Waiver for vaccines; Now, technology sharing must become a...
The United States Government announced on 5 May a bold move to drop its opposition to the proposal to waive intellectual property rights related...
BMJ Commentary: Overriding drug and medical technology patents for pandemic recovery: a legitimate move...
Interest in the use of compulsory licensing is making a comeback in high-income countries in response to concerns about access to Covid-19 vaccines and...