The racing sport Formula 1 (F1) has made more than US $4.4 billion in advertising and sponsorship from tobacco companies in the past seven decades, according to a report published by F1 industry monitor Formula Money and global tobacco industry watchdog STOP. The first-ever analysis of its kind, Driving Addiction: F1 and Tobacco Advertising, was published just […] Continue reading ->
Big pharma has reaped billions in profit off the back of European orphan drug regulations that are supposed to incentivize R&D for rare diseases, according to an analysis of 120 orphan medicines registered in the EU over the past two decades. Instead of incentivizing R&D for rare maladies, the EU’s orphan drug legislation has turned […] Continue reading ->
On Monday, the Geneva-based NCD Alliance launched the first-ever fund to bolster the efforts of NGOs worldwide fighting chronic diseases alongside the COVID-19 pandemic with some $US 300,000 in initial seed capital. The effort is unique in that it links major pharma interests that develop and produce drugs for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to the support […] Continue reading ->
A standardized set of more than 80 compounds with known or predicted activity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been compiled by the Medicines for Malaria Venture in an effort to catalyze the discovery of drugs for the disease. The announcement comes amidst rapid shifts in the research around potential COVID-19 treatments. Just […] Continue reading ->
New technical guidance for national governments was released to support the enhanced measurement of two key indicators for the COVID-19 response; the number of cases and the number of deaths, as reported on national and global dashboards. The package was launched by global health NGO Vital Strategies. Limited COVID-19 testing capacity in low- and middle-income […] Continue reading ->
As the 73rd World Health Assembly approaches, the European Union-sponsored draft resolution on the COVID-19 response is gathering steam and storm as it rolls closer to the planned opening of the Assembly on 18 May – with far less clarity about how it might actually hit the shores of the public debate. The resolution aims […] Continue reading ->
From a small and modest gathering of booths and stands in 2006, the Geneva Health Forum has grown into an international event with a strong array of scientific sessions. Although the GHF was forced to postpone its eighth annual conference, from March to 16-18 November due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that has not prevented the […] Continue reading ->
Women’s and children’s health advocates have lauded a landmark move by Sudan to finally criminalize the practice of female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) – punishing perpetrators for up to 3 years in prison to ward them off the crime. Last Thursday, Sudan’s National Council for Child Welfare endorsed a long-awaited amendment to Criminal Law […] Continue reading ->
The combined impact of Covid-19 and malaria in regions where malaria is widespread “could be catastrophic,” warned David Reddy, CEO of Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), the Geneva-based product development partnership, just ahead of World Malaria Day, which is celebrated on Saturday, 25 April. His commment to Health Policy Watch, came in the wake of […] Continue reading ->
CAPETOWN, South Africa – As many African countries opt for lockdowns to combat COVID-19, there is uncertainty over whether this will be enough to prevent the pandemic’s spread, or whether authorities will be able to implement this in overcrowded urban areas – as well as fears for patients with HIV, TB and other conditions that […] Continue reading ->