PHM-Exch> INNOVATION KEY TO ENSURING ADEQUATE VACCINES FOR ALL, SAYS UN HEALTH CHIEF

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel at gmail.com>
crossposted from "[health-vn discussion group]" <health-vn at anu.edu.au>


The manufacturing capacity for influenza vaccines is “woefully” inadequate
for a
world of 6.8 billion people, the head of the United Nations health agency
said
today, highlighting the need for innovation in the development of new
medicines
and in ensuring equitable access to them.

Margaret Chan said the announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO)
last
month that the A(H1N1) influenza outbreak had officially reached global
pandemic
levels had triggered a surge of interest in pandemic vaccines and a scramble
to
place orders.

The agency’s advisory group on immunization, which met last week, reviewed
the
current pandemic situation, the status of seasonal vaccine production and
potential A(H1N1) vaccine production capacity. Recognizing that the pandemic
is
unstoppable, the group said all countries will need to have access to
vaccines.

“Manufacturing capacity for influenza vaccines is finite and woefully
inadequate
for a world of 6.8 billion people, nearly all of whom are susceptible to
infection by this entirely new and highly contagious virus,” Ms. Chan told
the
Conference on Intellectual Property and Public Policy Issues, organized by
the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.

“The lion’s share of these limited supplies will go to wealthy countries.
Again
we see the advantage of affluence. Again we see access denied by an
inability to
pay.

“But we also see the need for innovation,” she added. “This shortfall in
vaccine
supplies, in the face of universal need, is the result of limited global
manufacturing capacity. It is not, in essence, a result of intellectual
property
issues.”

The Director-General said that the ideal vaccine would be one that protects
against seasonal influenza viruses as well as a range of candidate pandemic
viruses. She encouraged the research and development sector as well as
academics
to work on such an innovation – calling this the “best and most rational
insurance policy for increasing supplies and encouraging more equitable
access.”

She also noted that the ability to pay, whether at the individual or the
national level, remains a distinct advantage. “In the field of health,
public
policy will remain imperfect as long as access to life-saving interventions
is
biased in favour of affluence.”

In this regard, Ms. Chan highlighted the resolution on public health,
innovation
and intellectual property adopted by the World Health Assembly in May that
resulted in a global strategy and plan of action to make health care
products
more accessible and affordable, especially in the developing world.

“The agreement on a global strategy and plan of action demonstrates that the
forces that govern the development and pricing of medical products can
indeed be
steered in directions that favour more equitable access to medicines,” she
said.
________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
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