Evergreening of Medicine Patents is ‘Abuse’ of Intellectual Property System 08/02/2024 Kerry Cullinan Evergreening patents on medical products – extending the lifespan of patents that are about to expire – is an “abuse of the intellectual property system”, an HIV activist told the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Fair Pricing Forum on Thursday. Meanwhile, an industry representative laid out her company’s value-based, country-specific approach to improving access to medicines, […] Continue reading -> EXCLUSIVE: Reject Drug Procurement Secrecy, Civil Society Urges ‘Big Five’ Buyers 07/02/2024 Kerry Cullinan Over 50 civil society groups have written to the leaders of the world’s biggest medicine procurement programmes urging them to reject “secrecy clauses” in their agreements with pharmaceutical companies. The letter, which has been shared exclusively with Health Policy Watch, was sent to the heads of UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), vaccine alliance […] Continue reading -> Transition to Clean Cooking Is a ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ in Climate Action 06/12/2023 Disha Shetty Improving access to clean cooking will not only help the world get closer to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but it will not be possible to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without doing so, said experts speaking on the sidelines of COP28. “We don’t want people to be breathing polluted air as a […] Continue reading -> TB Diagnosis Has Improved Post-COVID, But Detection of Drug-Resistance Still Lags 07/11/2023 Kerry Cullinan A massive 7.5 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2022, the highest number ever – but this is positive as it indicates that countries’ ability to detect the disease is recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 Global tuberculosis (TB) report. The two countries that contributed most to […] Continue reading -> German Ministers Call For Investment in Pandemic Prevention, Suggest Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies to Pay for Healthcare 01/10/2023 Kerry Cullinan German Ministers urge more investment in the Pandemic Fund and universal health coverage at a high-level pandemic preparedness meeting Even if vaccines and medicines are developed at record speed to address the next ominous global pathogen, they cannot prevent a pandemic without strong health systems to deliver them, stressed politicians and health leaders at a […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> ‘Bullying’ Pharma Giants Charged South Africa More Than EU for COVID-19 Vaccines 05/09/2023 Kerry Cullinan Pharmaceutical giant Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and generic manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) charged the South African government more than the European Union for COVID-19 vaccines – and South Africa assumed all the risk in ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ contracts with Pfizer, J&J and SII. This is according to an analysis of the contracts led by Health […] Continue reading -> UN Draft Pandemic Declaration Offers ‘Little Hope’ for Strengthening Global Preparedness 01/09/2023 Stefan Anderson A draft political declaration on pandemics, due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly later this month, offers “little hope” that the UN process will make a difference in global pandemic preparedness, global health experts said on Friday. The document, made public on Thursday, is long on words but short on commitments. The […] Continue reading -> Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts 17/08/2023 Kerry Cullinan The South African High Court has ordered the country’s health department to hand copies of all its COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts, negotiations and agreements to a non-governmental organisation, Health Justice Initiative (HJI). The Pretoria High Court ruling on Thursday comes in response to a court application by HJI for access to the contracts, arguing that […] Continue reading -> GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
EXCLUSIVE: Reject Drug Procurement Secrecy, Civil Society Urges ‘Big Five’ Buyers 07/02/2024 Kerry Cullinan Over 50 civil society groups have written to the leaders of the world’s biggest medicine procurement programmes urging them to reject “secrecy clauses” in their agreements with pharmaceutical companies. The letter, which has been shared exclusively with Health Policy Watch, was sent to the heads of UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), vaccine alliance […] Continue reading -> Transition to Clean Cooking Is a ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ in Climate Action 06/12/2023 Disha Shetty Improving access to clean cooking will not only help the world get closer to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but it will not be possible to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without doing so, said experts speaking on the sidelines of COP28. “We don’t want people to be breathing polluted air as a […] Continue reading -> TB Diagnosis Has Improved Post-COVID, But Detection of Drug-Resistance Still Lags 07/11/2023 Kerry Cullinan A massive 7.5 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2022, the highest number ever – but this is positive as it indicates that countries’ ability to detect the disease is recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 Global tuberculosis (TB) report. The two countries that contributed most to […] Continue reading -> German Ministers Call For Investment in Pandemic Prevention, Suggest Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies to Pay for Healthcare 01/10/2023 Kerry Cullinan German Ministers urge more investment in the Pandemic Fund and universal health coverage at a high-level pandemic preparedness meeting Even if vaccines and medicines are developed at record speed to address the next ominous global pathogen, they cannot prevent a pandemic without strong health systems to deliver them, stressed politicians and health leaders at a […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> ‘Bullying’ Pharma Giants Charged South Africa More Than EU for COVID-19 Vaccines 05/09/2023 Kerry Cullinan Pharmaceutical giant Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and generic manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) charged the South African government more than the European Union for COVID-19 vaccines – and South Africa assumed all the risk in ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ contracts with Pfizer, J&J and SII. This is according to an analysis of the contracts led by Health […] Continue reading -> UN Draft Pandemic Declaration Offers ‘Little Hope’ for Strengthening Global Preparedness 01/09/2023 Stefan Anderson A draft political declaration on pandemics, due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly later this month, offers “little hope” that the UN process will make a difference in global pandemic preparedness, global health experts said on Friday. The document, made public on Thursday, is long on words but short on commitments. The […] Continue reading -> Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts 17/08/2023 Kerry Cullinan The South African High Court has ordered the country’s health department to hand copies of all its COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts, negotiations and agreements to a non-governmental organisation, Health Justice Initiative (HJI). The Pretoria High Court ruling on Thursday comes in response to a court application by HJI for access to the contracts, arguing that […] Continue reading -> GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
Transition to Clean Cooking Is a ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ in Climate Action 06/12/2023 Disha Shetty Improving access to clean cooking will not only help the world get closer to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but it will not be possible to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without doing so, said experts speaking on the sidelines of COP28. “We don’t want people to be breathing polluted air as a […] Continue reading -> TB Diagnosis Has Improved Post-COVID, But Detection of Drug-Resistance Still Lags 07/11/2023 Kerry Cullinan A massive 7.5 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2022, the highest number ever – but this is positive as it indicates that countries’ ability to detect the disease is recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 Global tuberculosis (TB) report. The two countries that contributed most to […] Continue reading -> German Ministers Call For Investment in Pandemic Prevention, Suggest Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies to Pay for Healthcare 01/10/2023 Kerry Cullinan German Ministers urge more investment in the Pandemic Fund and universal health coverage at a high-level pandemic preparedness meeting Even if vaccines and medicines are developed at record speed to address the next ominous global pathogen, they cannot prevent a pandemic without strong health systems to deliver them, stressed politicians and health leaders at a […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> ‘Bullying’ Pharma Giants Charged South Africa More Than EU for COVID-19 Vaccines 05/09/2023 Kerry Cullinan Pharmaceutical giant Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and generic manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) charged the South African government more than the European Union for COVID-19 vaccines – and South Africa assumed all the risk in ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ contracts with Pfizer, J&J and SII. This is according to an analysis of the contracts led by Health […] Continue reading -> UN Draft Pandemic Declaration Offers ‘Little Hope’ for Strengthening Global Preparedness 01/09/2023 Stefan Anderson A draft political declaration on pandemics, due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly later this month, offers “little hope” that the UN process will make a difference in global pandemic preparedness, global health experts said on Friday. The document, made public on Thursday, is long on words but short on commitments. The […] Continue reading -> Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts 17/08/2023 Kerry Cullinan The South African High Court has ordered the country’s health department to hand copies of all its COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts, negotiations and agreements to a non-governmental organisation, Health Justice Initiative (HJI). The Pretoria High Court ruling on Thursday comes in response to a court application by HJI for access to the contracts, arguing that […] Continue reading -> GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
TB Diagnosis Has Improved Post-COVID, But Detection of Drug-Resistance Still Lags 07/11/2023 Kerry Cullinan A massive 7.5 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2022, the highest number ever – but this is positive as it indicates that countries’ ability to detect the disease is recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 Global tuberculosis (TB) report. The two countries that contributed most to […] Continue reading -> German Ministers Call For Investment in Pandemic Prevention, Suggest Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies to Pay for Healthcare 01/10/2023 Kerry Cullinan German Ministers urge more investment in the Pandemic Fund and universal health coverage at a high-level pandemic preparedness meeting Even if vaccines and medicines are developed at record speed to address the next ominous global pathogen, they cannot prevent a pandemic without strong health systems to deliver them, stressed politicians and health leaders at a […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> ‘Bullying’ Pharma Giants Charged South Africa More Than EU for COVID-19 Vaccines 05/09/2023 Kerry Cullinan Pharmaceutical giant Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and generic manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) charged the South African government more than the European Union for COVID-19 vaccines – and South Africa assumed all the risk in ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ contracts with Pfizer, J&J and SII. This is according to an analysis of the contracts led by Health […] Continue reading -> UN Draft Pandemic Declaration Offers ‘Little Hope’ for Strengthening Global Preparedness 01/09/2023 Stefan Anderson A draft political declaration on pandemics, due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly later this month, offers “little hope” that the UN process will make a difference in global pandemic preparedness, global health experts said on Friday. The document, made public on Thursday, is long on words but short on commitments. The […] Continue reading -> Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts 17/08/2023 Kerry Cullinan The South African High Court has ordered the country’s health department to hand copies of all its COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts, negotiations and agreements to a non-governmental organisation, Health Justice Initiative (HJI). The Pretoria High Court ruling on Thursday comes in response to a court application by HJI for access to the contracts, arguing that […] Continue reading -> GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
German Ministers Call For Investment in Pandemic Prevention, Suggest Cutting Fossil Fuel Subsidies to Pay for Healthcare 01/10/2023 Kerry Cullinan German Ministers urge more investment in the Pandemic Fund and universal health coverage at a high-level pandemic preparedness meeting Even if vaccines and medicines are developed at record speed to address the next ominous global pathogen, they cannot prevent a pandemic without strong health systems to deliver them, stressed politicians and health leaders at a […] Continue reading -> UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> ‘Bullying’ Pharma Giants Charged South Africa More Than EU for COVID-19 Vaccines 05/09/2023 Kerry Cullinan Pharmaceutical giant Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and generic manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) charged the South African government more than the European Union for COVID-19 vaccines – and South Africa assumed all the risk in ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ contracts with Pfizer, J&J and SII. This is according to an analysis of the contracts led by Health […] Continue reading -> UN Draft Pandemic Declaration Offers ‘Little Hope’ for Strengthening Global Preparedness 01/09/2023 Stefan Anderson A draft political declaration on pandemics, due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly later this month, offers “little hope” that the UN process will make a difference in global pandemic preparedness, global health experts said on Friday. The document, made public on Thursday, is long on words but short on commitments. The […] Continue reading -> Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts 17/08/2023 Kerry Cullinan The South African High Court has ordered the country’s health department to hand copies of all its COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts, negotiations and agreements to a non-governmental organisation, Health Justice Initiative (HJI). The Pretoria High Court ruling on Thursday comes in response to a court application by HJI for access to the contracts, arguing that […] Continue reading -> GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
UN Chief Excludes World’s Top Polluters from Climate Summit 21/09/2023 Stefan Anderson The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading -> ‘Bullying’ Pharma Giants Charged South Africa More Than EU for COVID-19 Vaccines 05/09/2023 Kerry Cullinan Pharmaceutical giant Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and generic manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) charged the South African government more than the European Union for COVID-19 vaccines – and South Africa assumed all the risk in ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ contracts with Pfizer, J&J and SII. This is according to an analysis of the contracts led by Health […] Continue reading -> UN Draft Pandemic Declaration Offers ‘Little Hope’ for Strengthening Global Preparedness 01/09/2023 Stefan Anderson A draft political declaration on pandemics, due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly later this month, offers “little hope” that the UN process will make a difference in global pandemic preparedness, global health experts said on Friday. The document, made public on Thursday, is long on words but short on commitments. The […] Continue reading -> Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts 17/08/2023 Kerry Cullinan The South African High Court has ordered the country’s health department to hand copies of all its COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts, negotiations and agreements to a non-governmental organisation, Health Justice Initiative (HJI). The Pretoria High Court ruling on Thursday comes in response to a court application by HJI for access to the contracts, arguing that […] Continue reading -> GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
‘Bullying’ Pharma Giants Charged South Africa More Than EU for COVID-19 Vaccines 05/09/2023 Kerry Cullinan Pharmaceutical giant Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and generic manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) charged the South African government more than the European Union for COVID-19 vaccines – and South Africa assumed all the risk in ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ contracts with Pfizer, J&J and SII. This is according to an analysis of the contracts led by Health […] Continue reading -> UN Draft Pandemic Declaration Offers ‘Little Hope’ for Strengthening Global Preparedness 01/09/2023 Stefan Anderson A draft political declaration on pandemics, due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly later this month, offers “little hope” that the UN process will make a difference in global pandemic preparedness, global health experts said on Friday. The document, made public on Thursday, is long on words but short on commitments. The […] Continue reading -> Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts 17/08/2023 Kerry Cullinan The South African High Court has ordered the country’s health department to hand copies of all its COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts, negotiations and agreements to a non-governmental organisation, Health Justice Initiative (HJI). The Pretoria High Court ruling on Thursday comes in response to a court application by HJI for access to the contracts, arguing that […] Continue reading -> GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
UN Draft Pandemic Declaration Offers ‘Little Hope’ for Strengthening Global Preparedness 01/09/2023 Stefan Anderson A draft political declaration on pandemics, due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly later this month, offers “little hope” that the UN process will make a difference in global pandemic preparedness, global health experts said on Friday. The document, made public on Thursday, is long on words but short on commitments. The […] Continue reading -> Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts 17/08/2023 Kerry Cullinan The South African High Court has ordered the country’s health department to hand copies of all its COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts, negotiations and agreements to a non-governmental organisation, Health Justice Initiative (HJI). The Pretoria High Court ruling on Thursday comes in response to a court application by HJI for access to the contracts, arguing that […] Continue reading -> GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts 17/08/2023 Kerry Cullinan The South African High Court has ordered the country’s health department to hand copies of all its COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts, negotiations and agreements to a non-governmental organisation, Health Justice Initiative (HJI). The Pretoria High Court ruling on Thursday comes in response to a court application by HJI for access to the contracts, arguing that […] Continue reading -> GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts
GSK Sues Pfizer for Patent Violations over its RSV Vaccine 03/08/2023 Megha Kaveri Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations. GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older postsNewer posts