WASHINGTON, DC -- The United States is one of the biggest funders of reproductive health and family planning in multiple developing countries. It is also one of the biggest distributors of contraceptive services in the international market providing all but one: Abortion. The US congressional midterm elections taking place on 6 November could influence further proposed changes to these policies by the current US administration, potentially affecting the lives of millions of women worldwide, for better or worse. Continue reading ->
The United States Department of Health and Human Services has released a new plan intended to reduce drug prices for some patients on Medicare, based on an international pricing index model. In his announcement of the plan, President Trump said the US would save money “for our seniors by paying the prices other countries pay. Nothing special, just the prices that other countries pay.” Continue reading ->
Or they should be. That’s the conclusion of a recent study published in the medical journal Vaccine. The study focused on political views of parents in the state of California, who had chosen not to vaccinate their nursery-school aged children. And it tracked the number of parents who had filed personal belief exemptions (PBEs), applications for permission to avoid vaccinations over a 5-year period to 2015. A disproportionate number of parents filing such forms were from Republican or conservative neighbourhoods, according to researcher Kevin A Estep, from the health administration and policy program at the university. Continue reading ->
US President Trump today declared in a White House speech his intent to "take steps" to lower drug prices by stopping "gaming of regulatory and patent processes by drug makers to unfairly protect monopolies," as well as increasing price transparency and promoting biosimilars and generics. But to do this, his administration will take on what it sees as "freeloading" on US innovation by foreign governments, and addressing "unfair" intellectual property and market access policies in trade agreements. Continue reading ->
The annual Special 301 report of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued today sparked a quick outcry among health advocates over its seemingly more restrictive approach they say bullies other countries into unfairly promoting US pharmaceutical industry rights to an extent that would raise drug prices and limit accessibility. Continue reading ->
The annual report of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the adequacy of trading partners’ protection of US intellectual property rights celebrated its 30th year this year with a sharper tone with China, in keeping with the Trump administration’s tough stance on the country. Also caught in the report are Colombia and Canada, which were downgraded to the “priority watch list.” Also, this year the report includes a special highlight on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Continue reading ->
The Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) this week launched a campaign to ask the University of California to drop its pursuit of a patent on the prostrate cancer drug Xtandi in India in order to make it affordable for patients. Xtandi sells at "exorbitant" rates in the United States, they said, a seeming violation of the licensing guidelines of the publicly funded University of California system which guarantees an "appropriate" return on taxpayer investments. Continue reading ->