In early February, health experts from Australia and 33 other countries will convene at the 146th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board. These delegates form the key decision-making body that guides the WHO on global health, touching on diverse topics ranging from vaccines and food safety to maternal, newborn and child nutrition. As a leader on global health and development, Australia has great influence on the Executive Board. Other countries listen to its views.
This year the Executive Board will revisit the WHO’s Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPOA). Negotiated for many years and approved by consensus in 2008, the GSPOA is a framework to help countries set policies to drive discovery of new treatments and cures for diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries. Critically, the GSPOA recognized the importance of intellectual property (IP) protections as “an important incentive in the development of health care products.”
Unfortunately, there have been efforts to refocus the GSPOA on issues that would harm innovation, both for developed and developing countries. Rather than strengthen the IP protections that support health care innovation, some groups have urged governments to weaken them, for example, by breaking patents on new inventions – a drastic action known as compulsory licensing. But studies continue to refute the flawed notion that intellectual property protections prevent patients from accessing new technologies and point to many others barriers that stand in the way.
The February 2020 WHO Executive Board meeting is an excellent opportunity for Australia to underscore the value of intellectual property on the global stage – and help to find real solutions to pressing global health challenges.
In the past, Australia has strongly supported and defended intellectual property rights and biomedical research and development in recent international meetings:
- At the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Assemblies last fall, Australia underscored its first-hand experience with the power of innovation. Australian officials noted, “we know from our own experience in Australia that the global economy is increasingly knowledge-based and innovation-driven, with intellectual property supporting economic growth and prosperity for developed, developing and least developed countries alike.”
- Commenting on the WHO Roadmap Report on Access to Medicines and Vaccines 2019-2023 this summer, Australia called on stakeholders to look beyond IP to address access to medicines, saying, “we do not consider that the IP system is a barrier to access to medicines and vaccines.”
- At the World Health Assembly in May 2018, Australia also acknowledged the true barriers hindering access to medicines, noting, “there are many factors that impact access to medicines across all stages of the value chain from financing for R&D to regulatory processes, manufacturing, supply, reimbursement arrangements, and pricing.” They called for comprehensive solutions that “account for these complexities and the interrelationship of all contributing elements.”
This focus on innovation can be seen in the country’s robust research and development capacity – particularly in the biopharmaceutical sector. Total research and development investment in Australia is around $32 billion annually, with approximately $6.5 billion spent on health and medical research. Yet, there is significant potential to grow. According to the latest data, Australia invests about 0.2% of government spending in research and development – putting them among the bottom of all OECD countries. Australia’s patients and economy would benefit from greater investment; in fact, a recent study demonstrated the significant impact of investment in medical research, with a near $4 to $1 return for the Australian economy.
The February 2020 WHO Executive Board meeting is an excellent opportunity for Australia to underscore the value of intellectual property on the global stage – and help to find real solutions to pressing global health challenges.
For example, Australia can help prompt a serious conversation about better using incentives, including intellectual property, to spur more research and development into diseases affecting the developing world. Australia can also stress the need for countries, at all levels of development, to have strong health care systems that enable universal access to safe and affordable medicines.
