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“Are we happy with a system that drives resources to solve the problems of persons with high incomes, and ignores the impact of inventions on outcomes of the poor? Are we happy with a system that raises more than a half trillion dollars per year through drug prices, while delivering only about $50 billion in private sector research and development, most of which is wasted on projects which are either medicinally unimportant or designed for marketing rather than scientific objectives?” James Love, Knowledge Ecology International Plea for change.
The problems with today’s medical innovation environment led over 280 scientists from 50 countries, including five Nobel Prize winners, to write to the WHO in January 2006 to push for the development of an alternative framework for drug R&D.
They noted: ‘At a time of huge progress in basic research science, and more money being spent on biomedical R&D than ever, we are deeply concerned about the ability of existing mechanisms to translate this into a global improvement in public health [. . .] We see research activities increasingly complicated by legal restrictions, such as intellectual property rights, which can interfere with free data exchange and can limit biomedical research progress. We do not see a good balance between medical need and resource allocation in the existing system to support R&D.’
Read the letter from over 280 scientists to WHO
Conclusive Evidence
In April 2006, the WHO Commission on Intellectual Property, Innovation, and Public Health (CIPIH) released its report. A result of over three years of research, the report confirmed the trend that medical innovation has declined in quantity and quality in recent years. It also stated that there was no evidence that giving pharmaceutical patents in developing countries was boosting innovation for diseases mainly affecting people in these countries.
Where the report was groundbreaking though, was that it concluded that problems of access to medicines and medical innovation had to be addressed together. The Commission proposed that alternative mechanisms should be found to encourage R&D that responds to real needs, without relying on drug sales to fund drug development. Finally, it suggested developing a plan of action to secure funding for developing drugs for diseases of the less-developed world.
Read the CIPIH Report 
Towards a Plan of Action
These recommendations now need to be translated into actions through political commitment. Following on from the recommendations of the Commission, the WHO established an Intergovernmental Working Group to examine ways to stimulate innovation while improving access.
More information on the Intergovernmental Working Group
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