Draft Resolution

Public health, innovation and Iintellectual property rights, innovation and public health[: a plan of action]

The Fifty-ninth World Health Assembly,

[Recalling resolution WHA56.27, which requested the Director-General to establish terms of reference for an appropriate time-limited body to collect data and proposals from the different actors involved and produce an analysis of intellectual property rights, innovation and public health;

Having considered the report of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health;

Conscious of the growing burden of diseases and conditions disproportionately affecting developing countries, particularly those affecting women and children, including an upsurge in noncommunicable diseases;

Conscious of the opportunities opened up by advances in biomedical science, and the need to harness them more effectively to develop new products, particularly in order to meet public health needs in developing countries;

Noting that intellectual property rights are an important incentive for the development of new health-care products;

Noting, however, that this incentive lacks efficacy for the development of new products to fight diseases where the potential paying market is small or uncertain;

Noting that the exclusive rights conferred by patents can affect the price and availability of medicines and other health-care products;

Noting further that the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health do not prevent Members from taking measures to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all;

Aware of the considerable progress that has been made in recent years by governments, industry, charitable foundations, and nongovernmental organizations in funding initiatives to develop new products to fight diseases affecting developing countries, and to increase access to existing ones;

Recognizing, however, that much more needs to be done in relation to the scale of avoidable suffering and mortality;

Noting that the Report of the Commission requests that WHO should prepare a global plan of action to secure enhanced and sustainable funding for developing and making accessible products to address diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries,]

1. WELCOMES the report of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health and EXPRESSES expresses its appreciation to the Chair, Vice-Chair and Members of the Commission for their work;

2. URGES Member States [and, where applicable, regional economic integration organizations]

[1- to consider the recommendations of the Rreport of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health and to contribute actively to the development of a global strategy and plan of action] preparation of a global plan of action that follows up the issues raised in the Report;

Or

[1- to consider the recommendations of the report taking into account their national context and priorities]

for the implementation of the recommendations directed towards Member States

[implementation respecting existing health, economic and finance systems and structures in the WHO Member States]

[2- to take advantage of the flexibilities contained in the WTO TRIPS Agreement and recognized by the Doha Ministerial Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in order to protect public health];

[3- To ensure that bilateral trade agreements do not seek to incorporate TRIPS-plus protection in ways that may reduce access to medicines in developing countries];

3. REQUESTS the Director-General:

(1) to establish an [open-ended] intergovernmental working group [representative of the six WHO regions] to develop a global strategy and plan of action[, within the competence of the WHO] [and in consultation with all interested parties,] built on the recommendations of the Commission, in particular ways of addressing diseases that disproportionately affect developing countriesin consultation with Member States and all interested parties, to prepare a global plan of action to follow up the recommendations of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health, in particular ways of addressing diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries;

(2) to report to the 60^th WHA through the EB on progress in developing the global strategy and plan of action involving areas for immediate implementation and to submit the final strategy and plan of action to the [61^st ] WHA through the EB;

(3) to publish a periodic update of a public health based Research and Development report for pharmaceuticals;

(42) to continue to monitor, from a public health perspective[, in close collaboration with intellectual property experts], the impact of intellectual property rights [as well as other issues addressed by the report] on the development of and access to new health care products and report to the WHA;

(3) to report to the Sixtieth World Health Assembly, through the Executive Board, on progress in preparing the global plan of action.

= = =

The following paragraphs have been proposed by Brazil for the operative text (2) of the Resolution, but the Committee had not had the opportunity to discuss them:

(4) to bear in mind the recommendation of paragraph 4 of the Doha Ministerial Deceleration on TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, according to which the TRIPS Agreement does not and should not prevent Members from taking measures to protect public health. Accordingly, while reiterating our commitment to the TRIPS Agreement, we affirm that the Agreement can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO Members' right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote medicines for all.

(5) to take into account Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement that states that "the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations

(6) to initiate consultations on the possibility of elaborating a Framework Convention on Research Development and Innovation on Public Health in order to define priorities and financing alternatives on research, development and innovation in health.