IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.2  
 
11 October  2018 
(18-6312) Page: 1/6 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N ACTIVITIES: INFORM ATION FROM  
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS  
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZ ATION (WHO)  
Addendum  
At its meeting of 5-6 June 2018, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Council to update the information on their technical and financial 
cooperation programmes relating to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement.  
The present document reproduces the information which has been received from the World Health 
Organization (WHO ) by means of a communication dated 8 October 201 8. 
 
_______________  
 
 
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.  This communication summarizes the technical cooperation activities of the World Health 
Organization (WHO) in the area of public health, innovation and intellectual propert y that have taken 
place since the last report in October 2017 (IP/C/W/633/Add.2).  The overall objective of WHO 's 
technical cooperation is to strengthen the capacity of developing countries in the areas of health 
innovation, access to medicines and manageme nt of intellectual property. WHO 's technical 
cooperation is based on its mandate derived from the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public 
Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPoA) as well as other relevant resolutions of the 
World Health As sembly. Following discussions at its 142nd session (2018), the WHO Executive Board 
recommended to the Seventy -first World Health Assembly implementation of the recommendations 
from an overall programme review of the GSPoA. The Seventy -first World Health As sembly decided 
to urge Member States to implement GSPoA -consistent recommendations of the review panel 
addressed to Member States while urging further discussion on recommendations not emanating 
from the GSPoA.1 An implementation plan is currently under development. In parallel, the 
Seventy -first World Health Assembly  decided to request the Director -General  to elaborate a road 
map report, in consultation with Member States, outlining the programming of WHO 's work  on access 
to medicines and vaccines, including activities, actions and deliverables for the period 2019−2023.2 
2  PROGRESS REPORT ON A CCESS TO HEPATITIS C  TREATMENT  
2.  Increased access to highly effective direct -acting antivirals (DAAs) for the treatment of inf ection 
with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is revolutionizing the prospect of ending HCV epidemics. Globally, 
the number of people who initiated DAA -based treatment for HCV rose between 2015 and 2016, 
from approximately 1 million to 1.5 million.  
                                                
1 WHA71(9) http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA71/A71(9) -en.pdf  
2 WHA71(8) http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA71/A71(8) -en.pdf  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.2  
 
- 2 - 
 
  3.  In March 2018 , WHO published the second edition of a global report on access to hepatitis C 
treatment.3 This edition updates the first edition,4 published in 2016, and reviews the progress 
countries have made in expanding access to life -saving DAAs. The report reviews the main 
challenges countries face and describes recent developments in relation to five key factors that 
determine access to DAA medicines: affordability, quality assurance, regulatory approval, 
government commitment and financing. It highlights key areas  for action by ministries of health and 
other government decision -makers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and technical partners.  
3  ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS  IN CLINICAL DEVELOP MENT  
4.  The emergence and spread of antibacterial resistance in all geographical areas, incl uding in 
bacteria that cause hospital - and community -acquired infections, is jeopardizing the effectiveness 
of these potentially life -saving treatments. The rise in resistance not only impedes the ability to treat 
bacterial infections in humans and animals  but has broader societal and economic effects that 
ultimately threaten achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. As misuse and overuse of 
antibiotics accelerate the development of resistance, antibiotics should be used more responsibly 
and new ant ibacterial treatments should be developed to counteract emerging resistance. There are, 
however, challenges, both scientific – for the discovery of new antibiotics – and economic, for 
ensuring investment into research and development. The traditional profi t-driven biomedical 
research and development model has not led to the development of new antibiotic candidates; 
limited potential commercial markets and consequent low profit margins compared to other 
investments are being cited as contributory factors.  
5.  In September 2017, WHO launched the first of an annual series of reports that reviews publically 
available information on the current clinical development pipeline of antibacterial agents.5 The report 
showed a serious lack of new antibiotics under developmen t to combat the growing threat of 
antimicrobial resistance. Most of the drugs currently in the clinical pipeline are modifications of 
existing classes of antibiotics and are only short -term solutions. The report found very few potential 
treatment options f or those antibiotic -resistant infections identified by WHO as posing the greatest 
threat to health, including drug -resistant tuberculosis which kills around 250 000 people each year. 
In addition to multidrug -resistant tuberculosis, WHO has identified 12 cl asses of priority pathogens6 
– some of them causing common infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections – that are 
increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics and urgently in need of new treatments.  
4  TRAINING AND ENHANCI NG CAPACITY  
6.  The sevent h WHO -WIPO -WTO Joint Technical Symposium on "Sustainable Development Goals 
(SDGs): Innovative technologies to promote healthy lives and well -being " was held in Geneva on 
26 February 2018 and discussed challenges and opportunities for the international community to 
ensure that innovative technologies are developed and reach patients in order to realize the right to 
health and the health -related SDGs.  Access to, and innovation in, health technologies is a requisite 
element for ensuring progress toward universal health coverage and achievement of the SDGs, 
namely SDG 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well -being for all at all ages. Innovative, inclusive, 
and multi -stakeholder in itiatives and partnerships that research, develop and facilitate access to 
novel, needs -based health technologies were highlighted.  
7.  In November 2017, the 1st World Conference on Access to Medical Products and International 
Laws for Trade and Health was hel d in New Delhi, India. The main objective of the Conference was 
to exchange knowledge and expand understanding on contemporary issues in international trade 
laws and research and innovation for access to medical products to achieve SDG 2030 agenda. Three 
                                                
3 Progress report on access to hepatitis C treatment: Focus on overcoming barriers in low - and middle -
income countries. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/260445/WHO -CDS-HIV-18.4-
eng.p df?sequence=1  
4 Global report on access to hepatitis C treatment: Focus on overcoming barriers. 
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/250625/WHO -HIV-2016.20 -eng.pdf?sequence=1  
5 Antibacterial agents i n clinical development : An analysis of the ant ibacterial clinical development 
pipeline, including tuberculosis 
http://www.who.int/medicines/news/2017/IAU_AntibacterialAgentsClinicalDevelopment_webfinal_2017_09_19
.pdf 
6 Global priority list of antibiotic -resistant bacteria to guide research, discover, and development of new 
antibiotics. http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/WHO -PPL-Short_Summary_25Feb -
ET_NM_WHO.pdf?ua=1  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.2  
 
- 3 - 
 
  thematic areas were addressed as follows: 1) Access to Medical Products, 2) Innovation and 
Research & Development for moving towards SDGs, and 3) Intellectual Property Rights and Trade 
for SDGs in the context of Access to Medical Products. An executive summ ary and final report of the 
Conference are available.7   
8.  In November 2017, WTO, in close collaboration with WHO and WIPO, hosted a Workshop on 
Trade and Health for Capital -Based Officials from Developing Countries. The workshop built on 
similar training activities held since 2014 as well as on earlier workshops on intellectual property 
and public health that had been convened by the WTO Secretariat since 2005. The workshop followed  
the approach of the WHO -WIPO -WTO Trilateral Study on "Promoting Access to Medical Technologies 
and Innovation: Intersections Between Public health, Intellectual Property and Trade. "  Key features 
of the programme included: public health determinants; the intellectual property system, including 
special compulsory licences for export; public procurement policies and practices; competition policy 
and rules; trade facilitation; health services; health -related provisions in regional trade agreements; 
regulatory  issues, including approval, quality, control and effectiveness of medicines and the 
protection of clinical trial data; as well as health -related measures in the framework of the Technical 
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee and the Sanitary and Phytosanitar y Measures (SPS) Committee.  
9.  To respond to the demand of Member States, WTO in November 2017 held a three -day Regional 
Workshop on Trade and Public Health with a Special Focus on Special Compulsory Licences for Export 
of Medicines for countries from the Lat in American region. The seminar was held in Brasilia DF, Brazil 
and was attended by the WHO Pan American Health Organization which  made important 
contributions to a number of topics . 
5  DIRECT COUNTRY SUPPO RT 
10.  In collaboration with relevant international organ izations, through its Headquarters, Regional 
and Country Offices, WHO provides technical and policy support in framing national policies, laws 
and regulations to favour application and management of intellectual property in a manner that 
maximizes health -related innovation and promotes access to health products and services. Such 
support is provided upon request to assist Member States in devising ways to safeguard public health 
interests, while adhering to their obligations under international trade agreem ents. 
11.  In October 2017, upon request from the governments of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, 
WHO/Europe organized a two-day training seminar for government officials from the two countries 
to explore legal options to increase access to lower -priced medicines. The seminar focused primarily 
on increasing access to essential medicines to treat HIV, hepatitis C and cancer. The dialogues 
highlighted the interplay between health, trade and intellectual property, with a focus on the 
potential impact of current trade agreements on people 's access to medicines in the two countries. 
Ministers, heads of administration, heads of technical agencies, members of parliament and other 
officials ben efited from these dialogues.  
12.  In June 2018, WHO, jointly with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Intellectual 
Property Organization (WIPO), provided technical support to the Government of Georgia for the 
implementation of their amended patent law. The national workshop responded to a demand of 
Sakpatenti (National Intellectual Property Office) to support them in drafting implementing rules for 
the grant of compulsory licences . 
 
_______________  
 
 
                                                
7 https://1st.worldsdg2030.org/reports.aspx   
  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.2  
 
- 4 - ANNEX1 
 
Activity  Date  Location  Brief Description  Link to further details 
(if available)  
Third Summer School 
Pharmaceutical Pricing and 
Reimbursement Policies  23-27 July 
2018 Vienna, Austria  The WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical 
Pricing and Reimbursement Policies at the Austrian 
Public Health Institute in Vienna, in collaboration 
with WHO/Europe, hosted  a five-day training course 
for professionals working in the field of pricing and 
reimbursement of medicines.  http://www.euro.who.int/en/ media -
centre/events/events/2018/07/third -
summer -school -on-pharmaceutical -pricing -
and-reimbursement -policies  
 
http://whocc.goeg.at/SummerSchool2018  
National Workshop on 
Implementation of Georgia 's 
Amended Patent Law  13-14 June 
2018 Tbilisi, Georgia  WHO, jointly with the World Trade Organization and 
the World Intellectual Property Organization, 
provided technical support to the Government of 
Georgia for the implementation of their amended 
patent law.   
Second Meeting of the 
Pharmaceutical Pricing and 
Reimbursement Information 
Network  15-16 May 
2018 Baku, Azerbaijan  Ensuring population access to safe and affordable 
medicines remains especially challenging for the 
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS ) 
countries of the WHO European region. The Health 
technologies and Pharmaceuticals (HTP) 
programme at WHO regional office for Europe 
together with the WHO Collaborating Centre for 
Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Policies 
sited at the Austrian Pub lic Health Institute 
(Gesundheit Österreich GmbH), organized the 
second meeting of the Pharmaceutical Pricing and 
Reimbursement network (PPRI) hosted by the 
Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan in Baku on the 
15 to 16 May 2018. The main objectives of the 
meeting were to discuss the pricing and 
reimbursement policies in the region; exchange 
experiences on how to handle medicines financing 
policies during the transition from donor funded 
program me to national resources; and to have a 
technical discussion on implementation of pricing 
policies and management of intellectual property 
rights.  http://www.e uro.who.int/en/countries/rep
ublic-of-
moldova/news/news/2018/18/strengthenin
g-collaboration -for-affordable -medicines -
in-cis-countries  
 
                                                
1 In English only.   
  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.2  
 
- 5 - Activity  Date  Location  Brief Description  Link to further details 
(if available)  
Progress Report on Access to 
Hepatitis C Treatment: Focus 
on Overcoming Barriers in 
Low- and Middle -Income 
Countries  March 2018  Geneva, Switzerland  The second edition of a global report on access to 
hepatitis C treatment, this report reviews progress 
countries have made in expanding access to life -
saving DAAs. The report reviews the main 
challenges countries face, descri bes recent 
developments in relation to five key factors that 
determine access to DAA medicines, and highlights 
key areas for action by ministries of health and 
other stakeholders.  http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/1
0665/260445/WHO -CDS-HIV-18.4-
eng.pdf?sequence=1  
WHO-WIPO -WTO Joint 
Technical Symposium on 
"Sustainable Development 
Goals (SDGs): Innovative 
technologies to promote 
healthy lives and  well-being " 26 February 
2018 Geneva, Switzerland  The Symposium discussed challenges and 
opportunities for the international community to 
ensure that innovative technologies are developed 
and reach patients in order to  realize the right to 
health and the health -related SDGs.  http://www.who.int/phi/sustainable_develo
pment_goals_February2018/en/  
 
WTO Regional Workshop on 
Trade and Public Health with a 
Special Focus on Special 
Compulsory Licences for 
Export of Medicines  21-23 
November 
2017 Brasilia DF, Brazil  PAHO attended a two -day seminar organized by the 
WTO, followed by meetings with local authorities 
and provided information and  inputs on many 
related subjects as well as other countries ' 
experience on the use of flexibilities.   
1st World Conference on 
Access to Medical Products 
and International Laws for 
Trade and Health  21-23 
November 
2017 New Delhi, India  The main objective of the Conference was to 
exchange knowledge and expand understanding on 
contemporary issues in international trade laws and 
research and innovation for access to medical 
products to achieve SDG 2030 agenda.  https://1st.worldsdg2030.org/  
 
 
WTO Workshop on Trade  
and Health for Capital -based  
officials from  
Developing Countries, in  
collaboration with WHO  
and WIPO  6-10 
November 
2017 Geneva, Switzerland  The 2017 workshop built on similar training 
activities held since 2014 as well as on earlier 
workshops on intellectual property and public 
health that had been convened by the WTO 
Secretariat since 2005. The workshop followed the 
approach of the WHO -WIPO -WTO Trilateral Study 
on "Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and 
Innovation: Intersections Between Public health, 
Intellectual Property and Trade. "2 https://www.wto.org/engl ish/news_e/
news17_e/heal_06nov17_e.htm  
Technical Workshop on Access 
to Medicines and Intellectual 
Property in the Republic of 
Moldova and Ukraine  26-27 
October 
2017 Kiev, Ukraine  Upon request from the governments of the Republic 
of Moldova and Ukraine, WH O/Europe organized a 
two-day training seminar for government officials 
from the two countries to explore legal options to 
increase access to lower -priced medicines. The http://www.euro.who.int/en/countries/ukra
ine/news/news/2 017/11/training -supports -
republic -of-moldova -and-ukraine -in-
increasing -access -to-lower -priced -
medicines  
                                                
2 Promoting access to medical technologies and innovation: Intersections between public health, intellectual property and trade  
http://www.who.int/phi/promoting_access_medical_innovation/en/   
  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.2  
 
- 6 - Activity  Date  Location  Brief Description  Link to further details 
(if available)  
seminar focused primarily on increasing access to 
essential medicines to treat HIV, hepatitis C and 
cancer.  
High-Level Policy Dialogue on 
Intellectual Property Rights of 
Medicines  25 October 
2017 
and 
28 
September 
2017 Kiev, Ukraine  
and 
Chisinau, Republic of 
Moldova  The dialogues highlighted the interplay between 
health, trade and intellectual property, with a focus 
on the potential impact of current trade agreements 
on people 's access to medicines in the two 
countries. Ministers, heads of administration, head s 
of technical agencies, members of parliament and 
other officials benefited from these dialogues.  http://www.euro.who.int/en/countries/ukra
ine/news/news/2017/11/training -supports -
republic -of-moldova -and-ukraine -in-
increasing -access -to-lower -priced -
medicines  
Antibacterial agents in clinical 
development: An analysis of 
the antibacteri al clinical 
development pipeline, 
including tuberculosis  September 
2017 Geneva, Switzerland  WHO launched the first of an annual series of 
reports that reviews publically  available information 
on the current clinical development pipeline of 
antibacterial agents.   http://www.who.int/medicines/news/2017/
IAU_AntibacterialAgentsClinicalDevelopme
nt_webfinal_ coun7_09_19.pdf  
 
 
__________