Court Compels South Africa to Reveal Details of its COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts https://healthpolicy-watch.news/court-compels-south-africa-to-reveal-covid-19-vaccine-procurement-contracts/ #COVID19 #access2meds #vaccines #transparency #SouthAfrica These include contracts with Pfizer, Janssen/ Johnson & Johnson, Serum Institute of India, local generic company Aspen, China’s Sinovac, as well as the African Union Vaccine Access Task Team (AU AVATT) and COVAX.

Patients with chronic conditions are set to receive two months of medicine for the price of one from 1 September, after the Senate voted down a Coalition push to tear up Labor’s 60-day dispensing changes. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/10/cheaper-prescriptions-plan-60-day-dispensing-coalition-drops-attempt-to-block #auspol #access2meds #auslaw #drugpricing #healthlaw

All eyes remain on US government patent dispute with Gilead https://pharmaphorum.com/sales-marketing/all-eyes-remain-us-government-patent-dispute-gilead #HIV #access2meds #patent #PrEP

“We are gravely concerned that the opportunity presented by the High-Level Meeting and the expected Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response is being squandered,” wrote Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Helen Clark in an open letter released on Sunday. https://healthpolicy-watch.news/warning-that-un-high-level-meeting-on-pandemics-may-be-squandered-opportunity/

“The current draft of the political declaration… does not express the commitments required of heads of state and government to transform the international system of pandemic preparedness and response. Instead, it reads as a health resolution”. #pandemictreaty #covid19 #thenextpandemic #access2meds #globalhealth

Ensuring Access to New Treatments for Ebola Virus Disease https://shar.es/afTsvo #access2meds

Leaked Text of Pandemic Treaty - Updated Pandemic Accord Draft Sees Watered Down Text on Publicly-Funded R&D; Pathogen Access and 'Benefit Sharing' Linkage Remain https://healthpolicy-watch.news/exclusive-updated-pandemic-accord-draft-sees-watered-down-text-on-publicly-funded-r-pathogen-access-and-benefit-sharing-linkage-remain/ #pandemictreaty #access2meds

The WHO has begun negotiations for a new pandemic treaty, here's how it would work https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-23/how-who-will-fight-future-pandemics/102383184 via @ABCaustralia #pandemictreaty #access2meds #WHO #COVID19 #pandemics #thenextpandemic

UC Berkeley Releases New Affordable Access Plan

https://www.uaem.org/news/berkeley-aap

"We’re delighted to continue UC Berkeley’s longstanding tradition of adopting intellectual property management strategies that maximize the humanitarian impact of campus research," says Laleh Shayesteh, Director of Intellectual Property and Administration in the UC Berkeley Office of Technology Licensing. "By addressing affordable pricing and widespread access, these provisions motivate licensees to develop therapeutics born in Berkeley labs for distribution to underserved communities in the U.S. and around the world."

The template’s affordable access provision is substantively similar to that developed by the Medicines Patent Pool in collaboration with UCLA and UAEM.

#patent #health #access2meds #publicresearch #publiclicensing

Access to PCV jabs in South Sudan, Somalia, Guinea and Chad ‘could save 40,000 children a year’ https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/may/02/pneumonia-vaccine-delays-kill-thousands-needlessly-in-africa #access2meds #healthcare #SDGs

Major PBS shake-up will allow Australians to purchase more medicine for less, saving government $1.2 billion https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-25/pbs-change-allows-purchase-of-60-days-worth-of-medicine/102265094 via @ABCaustralia #PBS #access2meds #health #auspol

Cheaper medicines to ease cost of living
The Australian Government is easing cost of living pressures and making hundreds of common medicines cheaper, by allowing millions of Australians to buy two months’ worth of medicine for the price of a single prescription. https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-mark-butler-mp/media/cheaper-medicines-to-ease-cost-of-living?language=en #access2meds #auspol #health

University students relying on food banks, skipping meals as cost of living bites https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-27/university-uq-food-crisis-cost-of-living-student-food-qut/102137568 #education #foodsecurity #health #access2meds #costofliving

‘I skip meals to make my insulin last’: the cost of diabetes in the global south https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/mar/22/i-skip-meals-to-make-insulin-last-cost-of-diabetes-in-global-south #access2meds #insulin #diabetes #SDGs #competition

University of Queensland's COVID vaccine technology finally moves to human trial phase after 2020 false start https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-20/covid-vaccine-human-trials-university-of-queensland-medical/102105340 via @ABCaustralia #COVID19 #access2meds #auspol

Leaders Say 'Never Again' to Vaccine Inequity https://www.voanews.com/a/leaders-say-never-again-to-vaccine-inequity/7000480.html 'It is time to embed justice, equity and human rights in pandemic preparedness and response.' #COVID19 #access2meds #humanrights

‘Profiteering’ of Covid pandemic must never be repeated, world figures warn https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/mar/11/profiteering-of-covid-pandemic-must-never-be-repeated-world-figures-warn #COVID19 #access2meds #vaccineequity #nationalism #profiteering The Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, former first lady of South Africa and Mozambique Graça Machel and former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon are among nearly 200 signatories to a letter calling on governments to “never again” allow “profiteering and nationalism” to come before the needs of humanity, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

'Fiasp, which is manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, is scheduled to come off the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS) from 1 April, sending the price from $30 to $230 a month.' | Nicholas Edwards https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/06/my-fast-acting-insulin-is-being-taken-off-the-pbs-could-my-glucose-monitor-be-next?CMP=share_btn_tw #access2meds #insulin #PBS

A pandemic treaty for equitable global access to medical countermeasures: seven recommendations for sharing intellectual property, know-how and technology https://gh.bmj.com/content/7/7/e009709 #COVID19 #access2meds #pandemictreaty

As COVID vaccine patent dispute drags on, Moderna forks over $400M to NIH https://arstechnica.com/?post_type=post&p=1920085 #patent #COVID19 #access2meds

Lawmakers urge U.S. patent office to scrutinize Merck over ‘abuse’ of the system https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2023/02/23/cancer-merck-keytruda-patents-fda-pto/ via @statnews
#patent #access2meds #uslaw #uspol