NEW YORK -- In the midst of the high-level meetings of the annual United Nations General Assembly last week, health officials from the UN and foundations announced what they called a breakthrough pricing agreement that will speed the availability of "the first affordable, generic, single-pill HIV treatment regimen containing [the key compound] dolutegravir to public sector purchasers in low- and middle-income countries at around $75 per person, per year." A senior official at Unitaid, the drug purchasing mechanism that helped reach the deal, explained to Intellectual Property Watch how it came about and why this is significant. Continue reading ->
NEW YORK -- A range of speakers, including top health officials from both a developed and developing country, last week laid out the case for why the world’s leaders must now launch a shift in the way medicines all populations need are developed and priced. The need for global collaboration is clear, speakers said, but who will lead? Continue reading ->
Tuberculosis is still a deadly killer, and a new report by two humanitarian organisations raises alarm on poor progress on the disease diagnosis and treatment. The report calls for governments to increase efforts to fight the disease, and for the G20 countries to mobilise funds to help, in particular to boost research and development for new treatments. Separately, the World Health Organization issued a call for new treatments to fight antibiotic resistant gonorrhoea. Continue reading ->
NAIROBI, Kenya - A generic version of dolutegravir (DTG), the drug of choice for the last two years for people living with HIV in high-income countries, is now available in Africa. On 28 June, the government of Kenya and drug pricing and innovation mechanism Unitaid unveiled the new first-line drug in an effort to accelerate access to better antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for her people living with HIV. It becomes the first country in Africa to introduce the generic version of drug. Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization's new list of essential medicines, those which should be available to everyone, anywhere, was issued today. To answer the rising concern about antimicrobial resistance, the antibiotics on the list have been divided in three groups, the last of which are to be used as a last resort. The list includes the first combination therapy to treat all six types of hepatitis C. However, no second line treatment for breast cancer has been added this year. Continue reading ->