Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 14 • Number 3 • 27th January 2010

WHO to Hold Meetings on Sharing Flu Virus Materials, R&D Expert Working Group

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The WHO’s Executive Board (EB) meeting, which took place last week, decided to convene two important meetings before the next session of the World Health Assembly, the organisation’s supreme decision making-body, which will run from 17 to 22 May.

The first meeting, an informal consultation, scheduled for 13 May, will discuss the report of the Expert Working Group (EWG) on Research and Development Financing. At the second meeting, a new intergovernmental gathering that is set to take place from 10 to 12 May, officials will discuss a proposed agreement for sharing virus-related materials and managing associated intellectual property rights in the context of the WHO strategy for responding to pandemic influenza outbreaks.

Progress in the implementation of the GSPA

During the meeting, the WHO Secretariat provided a progress report on the implementation of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPA).

WHO Director General Margaret Chan emphasised that she fully understood the importance that the member states accorded to the implementation of the GSPA, adding that this was also reflected in her decision to locate the relevant WHO department directly within her office.

Precious Matsoso, Director of Public Health Innovation and Intellectual Property (PHI) in the office of the Director General, emphasised that implementation of the GSPA was proceeding with vigorous momentum. In this regard, she provided a comprehensive overview of the many activities carried out by the WHO in the context of this implementation process. These include: the implementation of a European Commission-supported project in partnership with UNCTAD and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development*, which examines the main obstacles to transfer of pharmaceutical-related technology and local production in developing countries; inter-agency collaboration on intellectual property through high-level meetings of the directors-general of the WHO, the WTO and the World Intellectual Property Organization which have resulted in capacity building and training activities; support for regional and national networks for innovation in developing countries; and capacity building, training , technology transfer and licensing activities related to vaccines.

In addition, Matsoso mentioned that the WHO is creating a monitoring and reporting framework based on the progress indicators that were accepted by member states. Countries expressed their appreciation for the activities carried out by the WHO Secretariat and underscored the priority they gave to a speedy and effective implementation of the GSPA.

Heated discussions on the R&D Expert Working Group

In the context of the GSPA implementation, the EB witnessed heated discussions concerning the report of the Expert Working Group (EWG) on Research and Development Financing, which was established by the WHO Director General. The EWG was mandated to examine current financing and coordination of research and development, as well as proposals for new and innovative sources of funding to stimulate research and development on diseases that disproportionally affect developing countries.

The EWG has held three meetings since its establishment in November 2008. Its final report, to be submitted for consideration by the WHA through the EB, includes a number of recommendations, notably on new and innovative sources of funding such as a new indirect consumer-based tax, voluntary business and consumer contributions, and new donor funds for health research and development.

Though the report was only to be noted by the EB for transmittal to the WHA, its examination by the EB was overshadowed by several controversial matters, in particular a leak of an earlier draft of the report to an industry group. WHO Director-General Chan indicated that she had ordered an investigation to establish the source of the leak and announced that she would waive the diplomatic immunity of relevant WHO staff including herself to reach the truth. Sir George Alleyne, the Chair of the EWG, strongly denied any undue influence by the pharmaceutical industry on the work of the Expert Group.

In order to have an opportunity to fully discuss the 86-page report, which was available only two days before the start of the meeting, Bolivia, Brazil and India proposed to hold an informal consultation prior the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May.

Another point of contention related to the recommendations in the report. Several developing countries and NGOs such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Health Action International (HAI) indicated that the EWG should have focused more significantly on the issue of intellectual property rights and access to health products. Bolivia questioned why its joint proposal with Bangladesh, Barbados, and Suriname to decouple R&D costs from drug prices was not considered by the EWG. Sir George Alleyne admitted that the EWG might have interpreted its mandate too narrowly, as it had considered access to medicines outside of the research and development system to be beyond its mandate.

Other countries, such as Canada, Japan and the EU, underlined the importance of the GSPA implementation and stressed the need for access to health products, but did not address the recommendations of the report.

An agreement was ultimately reached whereby there will be both a web-based consultation on the report as well as a short one-day open consultation to be held on 13 May, five days before the beginning of the WHA.

New meeting on sharing of influenza viruses

The WHO has been struggling in recent years to reach agreement on a pandemic influenza preparedness framework for the sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits. However, consensus on issues relating to the standard material transfer agreement (SMTA) and intellectual property rights have been difficult to achieve.

Governments agreed at the EB to hold another intergovernmental meeting to address the issue from 10-12 May. Negotiations “should be conducted in the format of an open-ended working group,” and uses as its basis the final report of the first Intergovernmental Meeting to the World Health Assembly in May 2009.

Several countries emphasised the need for “problem solving” and trying to reach agreement on the remaining elements of the framework rather than repeating previous well-known positions.

The outcome of the deliberations will be submitted to the 63rd WHA the following week.

*ICTSD is the publisher of Bridges Weekly.