Healthy Skepticism Library item: 4996

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Publication type: media release

Global Framework for Essential Health R&D
CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL 2006 Jan 26

Full text:

STATEMENT BY CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL
EB117/Conf.Paper No.3, Agenda item 4.10
Global Framework for Essential Health R&D January 26, 2006

Consumers International (CI) represents 234 consumer groups and
organisations in 113 countries. It strives to promote a fairer society
through defending the rights of all consumers, especially the poor,
marginalized and disadvantaged. CI is an NGO in official relations with
WHO.

This statement is also supported by Medecins sans Frontieres access to
essential medicines campaign, Health Action International, Medico
International, Third World Network and CPTech.

We strongly support the timely and important proposal by Kenya and
Brazil
(EB 117/Conf.Paper No.3, Agenda item 4.10) to establish a working group
of
interested Member-States to consider proposals to establish a global
framework for supporting essential health R&D.

We recognize the importance of innovation in improving health care, but
we
also know that innovations need to meet real health needs, and they
remain
meaningless if there is no access. The draft resolution provides a new
way
of looking at innovation. By calling for the creation of a committee
of
interested Member States to consider a new global framework to support
R&D,
the resolution would create a space for concrete discussions among
countries
on the important and difficult questions of how to set priorities for
essential health R&D and how to share the costs of R&D for new
medicines.

The resolution correctly recognizes the important role of both public
and
private sector R&D efforts. It acknowledges the importance of
providing the
right balance between the protection of intellectual property and the
public
domain, and the need to implement intellectual property rules in a way
that
is consistent with human rights, the public interest and the promotion
of
follow-on innovation.

At present, the world is struggling with a plethora of trade agreements
and
negotiations that address intellectual property rules , as well as
bilateral
agreements that concern drug pricing .
Except for discussions within the G8, the agreements do not address
public
sector support for R&D, or other areas where the global community needs
to
address market failures in R&D, such as the development of treatments
for
neglected diseases, or public goods such as the Human Genome Project.

We need a balanced global framework for R&D. What we need is a
mechanism that encourages R&D in areas of priority, while allowing
governments to protect consumers from high prices and access barriers.
The proposal you are discussing today is a step in that direction.

Recent examples have shown how political will can ensure international
cooperation and the marshalling of tremendous resources for R&D.

Unfortunately a sense of urgency that resulted in swift and efficient
responses to the SARS outbreak and the potential avian flu pandemic is
entirely lacking when it comes to R&D for diseases that predominantly
affect
poor people in developing countries.

A new global framework for R&D would also address issues of sharing the
cost
of R&D for other diseases, including those that affect patients North
and
South, rich and poor, chronic or episodic, communicable or
non-communicable,
address the range of health problems that are important to people.

WHO as the global health agency is well placed to host and encourage
the
discussion on a new global framework that will ensure that medicines,
diagnostics, vaccines and other essential health technologies are
developed
and made available to all.

WE STRONGLY SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION AS A FIRST IMPORTANT STEP IN THIS
DIRECTION.