Prominent Research Universities Pledge To Ease Patents And Promote Drug Availability In The Developing World
On November 9, six major research universities, including Harvard and Yale, were the first to sign a joint pledge promising more relaxed patent policies regarding drugs and medical products discovered on their campuses.
The pledge, entitled the “Statement of Principles and Strategies for the Equitable Dissemination of Medical Technologies,” states that the universities will prevent their patents from hindering rather than promoting worldwide access to the best possible treatment.
It also supports the increased development of medications for AIDS, tuberculosis, and water-borne disease, among others.
Steven J. Fluharty, the Vice Provost for Research of the University of Pennsylvania, called the statement “a living guide as we go about moving important biomedical inventions from the academic lab to both developed and developing countries.”
“We believe the principles and strategies enunciated in this document will further our shared goal of providing access to the benefits of our medical inventions for the most needy global citizens,” added Yale President Richard C. Levin in a press release.
Signatory universities have agreed not to patent their technologies in developing countries when possible, and to focus on affordability and accessibility when partnering with for-profit companies to develop their research.
Other institutes have since committed to the new policies, including the National Institutes of Health, University of Illinois-Chicago, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The pledge is a more rigorous successor to earlier guidelines. In 2007, 70 organizations and academic institutions endorsed the “Nine Points to Consider in Licensing University Technology.”
This statement also addressed issues of medical access in developing countries, but was criticized by the Universities Allied for Essential Medicine (UAEM) as merely a compilation of vague suggestions.
The UAEM is a cross-university student coalition whose campaigning helped trigger the drafting of the 2009 statement of principles. They are dedicated to improving worldwide access to biologic medicines and applaud the new document of guidelines as the next big step towards easing the global health crisis.
However they are also the first to point out the shortcomings of the new principles. The statement is criticized for its lack of specifics regarding the manufacture of generic drugs and how this will change for the better with looser patent policies.
For more information, please see the “Statement of Principles” at the Association of University Technology Managers Web site (pdf), and the press releases from Yale and Harvard Universities.
Related Articles:
- Global Fund Approves $2.4 Billion For Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Programs
- Pfizer And GSK Launch New Health Care Company For HIV/AIDS Research
- FDA Grants Abbott Laboratories Approval For Heat-Stable Version Of Anti-HIV Drug, Norvir
- 97 New HIV Medications and Vaccines In The Testing Process
- Patent Pool Could Bring New HIV/AIDS Treatments To Poorer Nations
Leave a comment