Sharp disagreements emerged about the role of intellectual property (IP) during a pandemic at a panel convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), which is charged with developing a pandemic treaty. Komal Kalha, associate director of IP at the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), insisted that the fast […] Continue reading ->
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has signed a voluntary licence agreement with Japanese pharmaceutical company, Shionogi, to enable generic companies to produce its COVID-19 antiviral treatment pill candidate, provided it gets regulatory approval. The pill, ensitrelvir fumaric acid, has already shown efficacy in a phase 2/ 3 trial involving 1,821 COVID-19 patients from Japan, South […] Continue reading ->
A new initiative to introduce COVID-19 oral antivirals and national test-and-treat programmes in 10 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia was launched on Wednesday by the COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium. The consortium will support governments to introduce and scale up access to antivirals, starting with Pfizer’s Paxlovid, in high-risk populations in Ghana, Kenya, Laos, […] Continue reading ->
High income countries like the United States and Canada are casting a wide net in their vaccine strategy for monkeypox, vaccinating people exposed to an infected case and groups at risk of exposure while scrambling to study the results in terms of efficacy.  That was the upshot of a WHO-sponsored symposium on monkeypox research involving […] Continue reading ->
Citizens and NGOs welcomed the United Nations Human Rights Council’s adoption of a much-debated draft resolution that calls on nations to ensure everyone has access to medicines and vaccines. The resolution was adopted by consensus Friday shortly before the close of the HRC’s 50th session, sending what proponents called a “clear message” that access to […] Continue reading ->