Expanding access to costly cancer treatments and the high price of new generation insulin formulas were among the controversial topics of debate today as the WHO Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines convened for its biennial update of the list of over 400 drugs deemed most essential for treating public health needs […] Continue reading ->
A “broader” call to action engaging a “wider universe of advocates,” is needed to more effectively tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – including everyone from financial investors to environmental groups. This was the message emerging out of a global meeting on the issue yesterday in London. Image Credits: The Economist. Continue reading ->
Charles Gore took over the role of Executive Director at the Medicines Patent Pool in July 2018, just after its board decided to greatly expand its mandate into essential medicines. Nine months into his term, IP-Watch’s William New talked with him about his role and how the expansion is going. Continue reading ->
[Press Release by UNAIDS] Five countries met the target three years ahead of the 2020 deadline and 18 more are on track; however, most countries are lagging behind and risk missing the target completely. UNAIDS urges countries to step up action. GENEVA, 22 March 2019—Ahead of World Tuberculosis Day, on 24 March 2019, UNAIDS […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and global partners wrapped up a meeting today to develop a vision and strategy prototype for the post-2020 decade of action on vaccines and immunizations. This new plan of action for 2021-2030 will take a different approach that is more “bottom up” and collaborative in engaging countries and other stakeholders to […] Continue reading ->
Bacteria and other pathogens that are resistant to common anti-microbial medications appear to be most abundant in Africa, as well as parts of South-East Asia and other developing regions with a poor record of sewage and sanitation management, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons. Continue reading ->
Severe side effects make the current course of prolonged drug treatment difficult for many patients with Chagas disease, but a Phase II clinical trial in Bolivia may have found an alternative treatment that is both quicker and significantly safer. Image Credits: Ana Ferreira/DNDi. Continue reading ->
As posted by UNAIDS and UNDP in a press release: VIENNA/GENEVA, 15 March 2019—A coalition of United Nations Member States, United Nations entities and leading human rights experts meeting at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria, today launched a landmark set of international legal standards to transform and reshape global responses to the world drug […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters today that WHO is “working to find a balance between protecting patients and staff from attacks by armed groups and building community trust and ownership” in managing the response to the deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image Credits: Gabriele François Casini/MSF. Continue reading ->
Students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) renewed their protests today against a patent claim in an Indian High Court over a leading prostate cancer treatment, saying the claim, if successful, could make the drug unaffordable to millions of people in the developing world. Image Credits: Neda Ashtari. Continue reading ->