All articles tagged with #access to medicines
The WHO has added GLP-1 drugs for diabetes to its essential medicines list to improve global access, highlighting their importance despite high costs, and encouraging generic production to increase affordability. The list also includes treatments for cystic fibrosis and cancer, aiming to enhance availability worldwide.
South Africa, Colombia, and other countries that faced challenges in accessing COVID-19 vaccines are now taking a more confrontational approach towards drugmakers, pushing back on policies that restrict affordable treatment for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. These countries are seeking to become more self-reliant and are challenging pharmaceutical companies to make life-saving medicines more widely available. Activists have protested against Johnson & Johnson's efforts to protect its patent on the TB drug bedaquiline, leading to the company dropping its patent in over 130 countries. In Colombia, the government plans to issue a compulsory license for the HIV drug dolutegravir without permission from the patent-holder. However, experts emphasize the need for broader changes to ensure equal access to medicines and vaccines, including strengthening health systems and reforming intellectual property laws.
South Africa, Colombia, and other countries that faced challenges in accessing COVID-19 vaccines are now taking a more confrontational approach towards drugmakers, pushing back on policies that restrict affordable treatment for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. These countries are seeking to become more self-reliant in the production of lifesaving medicines and are challenging pharmaceutical companies to ensure wider access to treatments. Activists have protested against Johnson & Johnson's efforts to protect its patent on the TB drug bedaquiline, leading to the company dropping its patent in over 130 countries. In Colombia, the government plans to issue a compulsory license for the HIV drug dolutegravir without permission from the patent-holder. However, experts emphasize the need for broader changes in intellectual property laws and stronger health systems to ensure equal access to medicines and vaccines in poorer countries.