South Centre Quarterly Report, 1 July to 30 September 2018
This report summarizes the programmatic activities of the South Centre during the period 1 July to 30 September 2018. It is intended to provide information, organized by Program and themes, about recent developments in the areas covered by the South Centre’s Work Program and publications and meetings organized or co-organized by the Centre to examine particular issues or to provide analytical support for international negotiations taking place in various fora. It also informs about external conferences and other meetings where the Centre has participated.
South Centre Statement for the Informal Consultation on the Roadmap on Access to Medicines
The draft roadmap is an important work in progress that needs to be further detailed with clear deliverables and timelines. The roadmap will need to ensure complementarity of its work and the implementation of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPOA).
The International Debate on Generic Medicines of Biological Origin
By Dr. Germán Velásquez
The debate on generic medicines is not new. What makes it different today is that attacks levelled against biological generic products are couched in even more “technical” and abstruse language. The high price of biological drugs stems mainly from the introduction of barriers to the entry of generics into the market. In any debate on the feasibility of producing biological generic products identical to the ‘original’ ones, it should be made clear that what are at stake are not identical products but therapeutic equivalents.
The International Debate on Generic Medicines of Biological Origin
The debate on generic medicines is not new. What makes it different today is that attacks levelled against biological products are couched in ever more “technical” and abstruse language that confuses even the World Health Organization (WHO).
