BANGLADESH AND BOLIVIA CALL FOR EXTENSION OF WHO WORKING GROUP ON PUBLIC HEALTH, INNOVATION AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Bangladesh and Bolivia recently suggested that countries need more time to finalise a plan at the World Health Organisation (WHO) for promoting research on diseases that disproportionately affect people in poor countries. At the end of February, the two countries made submissions to the WHO's Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (IGWG), addressing both procedural and substantive aspects of the IGWG's tasks and documents under negotiation.

Created in 2006, the IGWG was charged with submitting a global strategy and plan of action to the 2008 World Health Assembly (the WHO's top decision-making body), providing a new framework to support sustainable, needs-driven, essential research and development (R&D) work on diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries. The IGWG held its first meeting in December 2006 (see BRIDGES Weekly, 13 December 2006). Members were invited to submit comments by the end of February, allowing the WHO secretariat to update the negotiating documents.

The Bangladeshi and Bolivian submissions both called for the extension of the IGWG term for one additional year in order to set clear objectives and priorities for R&D on Type II and III diseases (mostly infectious or parasite diseases that heavily affect the poor) and enable all stakeholders to carefully examine all proposals made. The working group includes governments as well as a selected number of observers, invited experts and stakeholders.

Both proposals also highlighted certain recommendations made in the April 2006 report of the Commission on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (see BRIDGES Weekly, 5 April 2006), requesting that these be incorporated in the final IGWG global strategy and plan of action. The work of the IGWG is based on the outcome of the Commission on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (CIPIH).

The recommendations the two countries supported included the creation of incentives and investment frameworks to facilitate technology transfer, and the extension of intellectual property flexibilities -- beyond standard trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPS) flexibilities -- that would allow use of downstream and upstream technologies (basic science and research tools to final products). They also supported new innovation models such as the Prize fund model and the Global Medical Research and Development Treat, and stressed the importance of regional WHO offices in implementing the future global strategy and plan of action.

The two submissions also highlighted issues of specific concern to least developed countries (LCDs) and small economies. Bangladesh -- an LDC with both absorptive and production capacities in the pharmaceutical field -- stressed that efforts to promote and facilitate transfer technology and investments in R&D in LDCs would generate benefits for both home and host countries.

Bolivia reiterated the importance of TRIPS flexibilities, such as compulsory licenses and parallel importation, for countries to be able to obtain drugs at affordable prices. The submission also proposed that free trade agreements should avoid including exclusivity schemes regarding data protection on the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products, which would hinder access to new molecules and active ingredients. Bolivia further suggested improving access and diffusion of medicines by the creation of patent pools.

The IGWG is set to meet again in October this year to finalise the global strategy and plan of action.

ICTSD reporting.