Towards a Latin American agency to regulate medicines, February 2023
Towards a Latin American agency to regulate medicines
Through Ministry of Health, the Colombian government is promoting the creation of a regional agency to regulate medicines.
Social Development
SC Statement at OHCHR Workshop on COVID-19 & Inequalities, 7 February 2023
Written Statement at the Workshop on Promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
Measurement and elimination of global poverty and inequalities
Carlos Correa, Executive Director, South Centre
7 February 2023
Organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Research Paper 173, 7 February 2023
Analysis of COVID-Related Patents for Antibodies and Vaccines
By Kausalya Santhanam
This paper provides an analysis of patents covering selected antibodies and vaccines used in the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. The aim of the report is to support national patent offices and interested parties in developing countries with information that can serve as guidance for the examination of the claims contained in relevant patents or patent applications. The antibody combination considered for the patent analysis in this paper are Casirivimab and Imdevimab. The vaccines considered for the patent analysis are mRNA-1273, Sputnik, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222). The analysis was completed in May 2022.
Statement on extension of TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 diagnostics & therapeutics, 9 January 2023
South Centre Statement on the extension of the TRIPS waiver for diagnostics and therapeutics for COVID-19
Developing countries should consider options that can be implemented now to deal with IP barriers to expand production and access to COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics, while the so far elusive decision on whether to extend a TRIPS waiver to cover these products is taken by WTO.
WHO, WIPO & WTO Trilateral Symposium 2022 Statement, 16 December 2022
WHO, WIPO & WTO Trilateral Symposium 2022 Opening Statement
by Viviana Munoz Tellez
The world was unprepared prior to the Covid-19 crisis and remains so for new ones. The Covid-19 response was faulty. Covid-19 recovery has been slow and painful, in particular for developing countries. Read the South Centre opening statement at the WHO, WIPO & WTO Trilateral Symposium 2022: Lessons from Covid-19.
Statement on WHO proposed instrument on pandemics, 9 December 2022
South Centre Statement
WHO proposed instrument on pandemics: the Conceptual Zero Draft needs substantial improvement to address global public health needs
We welcome the discussions in the WHO on a new instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. While we appreciate the preparation and sharing with WHO members of the Conceptual Zero Draft (hereinafter ‘the Draft’), we note that more work is needed to address the insufficiency of the tools at the disposal of the WHO that became evident with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reunión Regional de Alto Nivel sobre Políticas de PI para Favorecer el Logro de los Objetivos de Salud Pública, 5-6 Diciembre 2022
Reunión Regional de Alto Nivel sobre Políticas de Propiedad Intelectual para Favorecer el Logro de los Objetivos de Salud Pública
Organizado por el South Centre y el Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social de Colombia
5 y 6 de Diciembre 2022 en el Hotel Hyatt Regency, Cartagena, Colombia
Research Paper 170, 17 November 2022
Left on Our Own: COVID-19, TRIPS-Plus Free Trade Agreements, and the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health
By Melissa Omino and Joanna Kahumbu
The cusp of the twentieth anniversary of the WTO Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (hereafter “the Declaration”) was marked by a global pandemic. The Declaration and its iteration in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (hereafter “TRIPS”) Article 31 bis, should have helped to contain the devastation in least developed and developing countries. The reality is that the pandemic is still ongoing, and the Global South led by South Africa and India are seeking a waiver of provisions to the TRIPS Agreement to ensure that COVID-19 therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines reach their citizens in order to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus (“the TRIPS waiver”). These citizens are especially vulnerable because of their inability to access vaccines due to their prices and supply shortages caused by the refusal to share manufacturing technology. The Doha Declaration aimed at reaffirming the interpretation and implementation of the TRIPS Agreement to support WTO members’ right to protect public health and promote access to medicines. However, the operationalization of the Declaration via Article 31bis of TRIPS has been cumbersome and procedurally difficult to navigate. This paper argues that the current iteration of the Doha Declaration within TRIPS fails to meet the objectives of the Declaration as demonstrated by the need for a further waiver of the TRIPS agreement. It also attempts to “reimagine” Article 31 bis in light of the TRIPS waiver from the position of the Global South to make it more equitable and practicable and maintain the spirit of the Declaration.
LAC AMR meeting, 3,17,18 November 2022
Latin American and Caribbean Meeting: Communities Empowered to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance
Organizers: Pan American Health Organization, ReAct Latin America, the Global Health Consortium of the Florida International University, South Centre
This dialogue involving civil society, non-governmental organizations, academics, international organizations, and governments seeks to capture, share, and learn from the experience of different communities in infection prevention and control and the appropriate use of antimicrobials and draw relevant lessons on how to better engage communities and enable their active participation in addressing AMR.
Dates: 3-17-18 November 2022
Research Paper 169, 8 November 2022
The WTO TRIPS Decision on COVID-19 Vaccines: What is Needed to Implement it?
By Carlos M. Correa and Nirmalya Syam
The 12th WTO Ministerial Conference adopted a Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement on 17 June 2022. This partially concluded almost two years of protracted discussions in response to a proposal by India and South Africa for a waiver from certain obligations under the TRIPS Agreement for health products and technologies for the prevention, treatment and containment of COVID-19. The adopted Decision only waives the obligation under article 31 (f) of the TRIPS Agreement. Developing country WTO members are now allowed to export any proportion of vaccines, including ingredients and processes, necessary for the COVID-19 pandemic that are manufactured under a compulsory license or government use authorization to other developing countries. It also contains some clarifications of relevant TRIPS provisions, while introducing a number of conditionalities that are not present in the TRIPS Agreement. This paper examines the object and scope of the Decision, the requirements established for its use, and the required actions to be taken by WTO members to implement it.
Vacancy Announcement
Vacancy Announcement:
Consultant / Antimicrobial Resistance
The South Centre is seeking to fill a consultancy position to support its activities in the area of tackling antimicrobial resistance in developing countries.
Research Paper 167, 27 October 2022
Analysing Intersections between Climate Change and Human Rights
By Daniel Uribe Teran and Luis Fernando Rosales
The effects of climate change on people’s daily lives threaten the full enjoyment of human rights. The Human Rights Council adopted two landmark resolutions recognising the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (Resolution 48/13), and establishing the mandate for a Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change (Resolution 48/14). Nevertheless, a broader dialogue between the UNFCCC and the UN human rights architecture seems necessary to establish a coordinated and coherent response to climate change and its effects on human rights.
This research paper analyses the intersections of these two legal systems. It does so by identifying how the climate change negotiations and the human rights architecture can contribute to strengthening international cooperation. It also recognises the need for a more profound international debate on the linkages between human rights and climate change consistent with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities included in the UNFCCC.