WHO a step closer to innovation strategy for developing world:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The World Health Organization's Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property is sounding confident that a strategy to improve access to healthcare products in the developing world will be reached in May 2008. At the end of a six-day roundtable involving representatives from 140 countries, it says it has made significant progress on "agreeing the basic principles underlying the effort, as well as on some specific elements of the strategy". However, R&D, innovative capacity in the developing world, intellectual property rights and sustainable financing are still described as "difficult and complex issues" in the negotiations. The talks aimed at finalising the strategy and action plan are scheduled to resume on April 28 2008, ahead of the WHO's annual meeting in May.