Pharmaceutical News 2.0

15 May 2008
Press Release

Today, Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander, launched a powerful new health alliance which could save the lives of 10.5 million people in developing countries each year by 2015.

International institutions, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, governments, civil society and business have joined together to form the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) to improve the health and lives of millions of people. Currently one in three people around the world still don’t have access to the basic medicines they need to fight illness and ten million children die each year for want of cheap and effective drugs.

Up to a third of medicines on the market in developing countries are fakes and a recent study published by the American Enterprise Institute found that a third of malaria drugs sold in six African cities either did not contain high enough levels of active ingredient, or did not dissolve properly.

Douglas Alexander said:

“Too many people die needlessly because they can’t get the medicines they need. There are currently 2 billion people around the world who do not have access to affordable medical services. A lot of medicines are not affordable, they are of poor quality, or they are simply not available.

“The problems of price, quality and availability can be tackled by improving transparency and access to information. MeTA will provide citizens, health care workers and others with information to challenge corruption, excessive pricing and waste. We now have a common approach and by working together millions of lives could be saved.”

Read the rest this press release on the new alliance creating access to medicine, Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA).

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EMHS, PhRMA partner to improve access to medicine in eastern Maine.
Jan 8, 2008

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems have launched a pilot program designed to increase patient access to important medicines throughout rural Aroosook County, Maine. The program, funded by a grant from PhRMA, will make it easier for Mainers in Aroostook County to get connected to the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a program supported by America’s pharmaceutical research companies to help uninsured and underinsured Americans get access to medicines for free or nearly free.

Read more about PhRMA and EMHS’ pilot program to improve access to medicine in Maine.

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September 20, 2007
(excerpt)
By Laura MacInnis

GENEVA, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Improving access to medicine could save 10 million lives a year globally, a U.N. health envoy said on Thursday, recommending that drugmakers support research for neglected diseases and cut prices in poor countries.

Paul Hunt, an independent U.N. expert on the right to health, estimated that 2 billion people worldwide cannot get the essential drugs they need.

In about 50 recommendations released by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Hunt urged drugmakers to charge less for medicines in poorer markets and allow developing states flexibility in accessing cheaper generics.

“It is time to identify what pharmaceutical companies should do to help realise the human right to medicine. How can we expect pharmaceutical companies to respect human rights if we fail to explain what they’re expected to do?” he said.

“The price of medicine in a low-income country should be less than the price of the same or equivalent medicine in a middle-income country, which should be less than the price of the same or equivalent medicine in a high-income country.”

Just 15 percent of the global population consumes more than 90 percent of the world’s pharmaceuticals, he added.

On patents, one of the most contentious issues in public health, Hunt said it was important pharmaceutical companies respect World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and ease off lobbying for stricter patent protection in poorer states.

“The company should not extend patent duration, or file patents for new indications for existing medicines, in low-income and middle-income countries,” his guidelines said.

Read more on the need for better access to medicine.

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