A new Health Technology Access Pool (H-TAP), which aims to broaden the scope of IP and patent-sharing with low- and middle-income countries and a new African Union co-sponsored ‘manufacturing support platform’ were among the initiatives announced this week at the Second World Local Production forum in The Hague. The global forum, the second ever to […] Continue reading ->
One of the most intense debates in the pandemic accord negotiations is over how to fast-track the development and equitable rollout of vaccines and medicines, with pharmaceutical companies insisting that any infringement on intellectual property (IP) rights will stifle innovation and that voluntary arrangements are the way forward. A recent event to showcase voluntary licensing […] Continue reading ->
Regional vaccine production features in the draft pandemic accord, but there is still a long road before this becomes a reality Aspen Pharmacare invested millions of dollars in scaling up its South African production plant to make COVID-19 vaccines – yet it never sold a single vial. Meanwhile, in a “demoralising blow”, Bangladesh’s government rejected […] Continue reading ->
CEOs from the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies issued a call to G7 leaders on Friday to oppose the inclusion of intellectual property rights waivers and pathogen benefit sharing in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) pandemic treaty. In meetings with Japanese Prime Minister and chair of next month’s G7 summit Fumio Kishida this week, a delegation […] Continue reading ->
Three years after the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the era of hourly headlines updating death and case counts has come to a merciful end. But the virus is still killing around 1,000 people worldwide every day, and it isn’t going anywhere. As of 7 March, WHO has confirmed over 750 […] Continue reading ->
A new study published in the BMJ has found that the United States invested at least $31.9 billion in public funds directly into the development, production and purchasing of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines through channels ranging from the National Institutes of Health to the Department of Defense. That vast pool of U.S. public funding was indispensable […] Continue reading ->
Just 66 days after the SARS-CoV2 genetic sequence was shared by a Chinese scientist online, the first COVID-19 vaccines went into production – in record time for R&D that yielded the first approved vaccines less than a year later. But there are looming concerns that the relatively open models of data and pathogen sharing that […] Continue reading ->
Along with a pledge to conserve 30% of the world’s biodiversity, the sweeping new deal reached in Montreal on Monday also etches a way forward to create an open-access platform for sharing gene sequences (digital sequence information) as part of new benefit-sharing arrangements. But some observers worry these policy advances still aren’t keeping up with […] Continue reading ->
Major pharmaceutical companies have offered to reserve a “real-time allocation” of vaccines and treatments upfront for “priority populations in lower-income countries” in future pandemics – providing the G7 and G20 also help low-income countries finance and make effective use of the products. Launching its Berlin Declaration on Tuesday, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and […] Continue reading ->
French drugmaker Sanofi is the latest pharmaceuticals manufacturer to offer a package of essential medicines at cost to health systems in the world’s most impoverished countries – including much-needed cancer and diabetes treatments. Sanofi on Monday announced the launch of the new nonprofit Impact® brand for dozens of medicines, that is supposed to ease support […] Continue reading ->