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Article

4 Dec 2006

Author:
Laura MacInnis, Reuters

U.N. health agency launches pharmaceutical review

The World Health Organization launched its first intergovernmental review of the pharmaceutical sector to try to find ways of making medicine more easily available to the world's poorest people. In their five-day talks, the WHO's 193 member countries are expected to look at how international patents limit access by keeping drug prices high, and to highlight areas now lacking investment...A WHO commissioned report earlier this year...slammed the existing drug development, marketing and pricing system...Few expect the WHO members to recommend big changes to the intellectual property system, which the pharmaceutical industry says is crucial for drug innovation. But they are nonetheless expected to lay down an action plan in a report due to be completed by 2008.