Will you support a patient-centred R&amp;D agreement?—Response from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Authors: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Journal: The Lancet Global Health (2017)

I read with great interest the open letter published on Dec 9, 2016 in The Lancet Global Health1Barber MJ Gotham D Muntanyà J Balasubramaniam T on behalf of 18 other signatoriesOpen letter to the candidates for Director-General of WHO: will you support a patient-centred R&D agreement?.Lancet Glob Health. 2017; 5: e135-e136Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (6) Google Scholar to solicit the ideas and views of candidates for WHO Director General on advancing the research and development (R&D) of diagnostics, medicines, and vaccines of public health importance. I have high regard for civil society's advocacy to address big challenges in global health. There have been significant efforts and commitments by WHO Member States and non-state actors to develop and deliver affordable, effective, safe, and quality health products for diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries and vulnerable populations and remain poorly addressed owing to market failures. These efforts include the Report of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health addressing key access barriers,2WHOPublic health, innovation and intellectual property rights. Report of the Commission of Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health.http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/documents/thereport/ENPublicHealthReport.pdf?ua=1Google Scholar the TRIPS agreement allowing the use of compulsory licenses,3WTOImplementation of paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and public health. Decision of the General Council of 30 August 2003.https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/implem_para6_e.htmGoogle Scholar the report of WHO's Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development,4WHOConsultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination. Research and development to meet health needs in developing countries: strengthening global financing and coordination.http://www.who.int/phi/CEWG_Report_5_April_2012.pdfGoogle Scholar the recommendations of the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel on Access to Medicines proposing a deal to close the gap between health innovation and access,5United Nations Secretary General's High Level Panel on Access to MedicinesReport of the United Nations Secretary General's High Level Panel on Access to Medicines: promoting innovation and access to health technologies.http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/final-report/Google Scholar and a call to double the funding for R&D to US$6 billion per year.6Jamison DT Summers LH Alleyne G et al.Global health 2035: a world converging within a generation.Lancet. 2013; 382: 1898-1955Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (786) Google Scholar The recent global doubling of oral cholera vaccine supply demonstrated the critical role of public-private partnerships.7WHOCholera vaccine supply set to double, easing global shortage.http://www.who.int/cholera/vaccines/double/en/Google Scholar WHO has developed a global strategy and work plan to improve monitoring, coordination, and funding for health research and development.8WHOThe WHO Strategy on Research for Health.http://www.who.int/phi/WHO_Strategy_on_research_for_health.pdf?ua=1Date: 2012Google Scholar It also established the Global Observatory on Health Research and Development to monitor, consolidate, and analyse relevant information on health research activities, particularly related to diseases affecting the poor. Furthermore, WHO carries out demonstration projects with the intention of delinking the price of the final product from the cost of the R&D. It laid out options for sustainable financing of a voluntary R&D pool fund which will soon be discussed by its governing bodies. Despite these encouraging efforts and the momentum built, I agree with the authors that the gap has not yet been addressed. As already indicated in my vision statement I am committed to accelerating research and innovation along a continuum from basic science and discovery to the development pipeline for diagnostics, medicines, and vaccines and the operational research necessary to optimise their use. I intend to intensify the ongoing dialogue and efforts including exploration of alternative mechanisms as well as translation of already existing and new commitments into action with a great sense of urgency. I will champion increased investment, national capacity strengthening and robust public-private partnerships to drive these actions. I will listen to partners offering creative ideas and innovations towards common goals. Open letter to the candidates for Director-General of WHO: will you support a patient-centred R&D agreement?Less than a year from now, a new Director-General will be elected to lead WHO.1 The next Director-General should commit to developing a global agreement on the research and development (R&D) of medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics of public health importance. This is critical in order to address the dual challenges posed by unaffordable medicine prices and a lack of innovation in neglected diseases, antimicrobials, and other public health priorities. Discussions at WHO on how to address failures of the current monopoly-based R&D system have been ongoing for over a decade, but R&D policy change is yet to occur and the will to address the root causes of the access and innovation crisis is still lacking. Full-Text PDF Open Access