17/02/2016 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
“I took note with great interest of steps taken by WHO with a view to increasing the accessibility of affordable and innovative medicines,” said Liliane Maury Pasquier (Switzerland, SOC), at the end of a visit to WHO headquarters in Geneva on 15 February.
“The creation of a global antibiotic research and development facility with a view to developing new antibiotic treatment addressing antimicrobial resistance, and the ‘Fair pricing initiative’ are both promising projects due to be introduced in the course of 2016,” she emphasized.
Ms Maury Pasquier also referred to the progress made in the framework of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property: “WHO is putting in place demonstration projects aimed at developing medicines, diagnostics and vaccines for diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries. However, I have been told that funding for these projects fall short,” she added.
“By adopting Resolution 2071 (2015) the Assembly has expressed its concern about the consequences of the patent-based pharmaceutical innovation model for public health. It is now time to take this Resolution further by supporting initiatives that promote an alternative to this model,” she concluded.
During her visit, Ms Maury Pasquie rmet, in particular, Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant Director-General, Health Systems and Innovation (photo).