PHM-Exch> WHO Report: Public health, innovation and intellectual property

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) <ruglucia at paho.org>
crossposted from : EQUIDAD at listserv.paho.org


 *Public health, innovation and intellectual property

*


*WHO Report of the Expert Working Group on Research and Development
Financing*

*December 23rd, 2009

*

Available online PDF [19p.] at:
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB126/B126_6Add1-en.pdf

“……..There is persistent and growing concern that the benefits of the
advances in health technology are not reaching the poor. The emphasis of the
developed world is naturally on the solution of the problems that affect it
predominantly. This is in spite of the evidence of the heavy burden of
disease on the poor, which in addition to being one of the more egregious
manifestations of inequity, could undoubtedly affect overall global
stability.



There is convincing evidence of the poor bearing a double burden of disease,
but there is still no indication of adequate research and development to
address the Type II and III diseases.1 This growing focus on the diseases of
the poor has led to examination of the relationship between intellectual
property rights,2 innovation and public health, and the gap in the
innovation cycle with the concern that the commercial incentives provided by
intellectual property rights have not resulted in sufficient improvements in
public health in developing countries or to access to the benefits of
innovations that take place in the developed world…..”



1 Type 1 diseases are incident in both rich and poor countries with large
numbers of vulnerable populations in each.

Type II diseases are incident in both rich and poor countries but with a
substantial proportion of the cases in poor countries.

Type III diseases are those that are overwhelmingly or exclusively incident
in developing countries.
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