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RELATED NEWS & ARTICLES

• Harnessing University Research to Improve Global Health. Global Health Blog, Center for Global Development. Harsha Thirumurthy. November 28, 2006.
• Universities’ drug discoveries must aid poor countries, student group says. Janice Hopkins Tanne. BMJ. 2006; 333: 1090 (25 November 2006).
• Universities urged to do more for poor nations. Erika Check. Nature 444, 412-413 (23 November 2006).
• Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/17/2006 | Students: Drug access for poor. A network of activists wants changes in the way universities license their discoveries to companies. By Thomas Ginsberg, Inquirer Staff Writer.
• Universities urged: ’share benefits of health research’ - SciDev.Net. Eva Tallaksen, 17 November 2006.
• TIME.com: The TIME Global Health Blog - From University Labs to the Developing World. Christine Gorman. November 14, 2006.
• UAEM Calls for Reform in Biomedical Research Policies. Global Health Council News, November 14, 2006.
• Inside Views: A Call To Universities To Help Increase Global Medicines Access. Rodrigo Cerdá, IP-Watch Inside Views, November 15, 2006.
• Slashdot | Global Access to University-Derived Medicines. Nicholas Stine, November 14, 2006.
• Turning the Tide with Global Medicine - NextGenMD, November 2006.

CAMPUS NEWS COVERAGE

• Harvard Medicine for the Poor?. Matthew F. Basilico, Connie E. Chen, and Jonathan E. Soverow. Harvard Crimson. December 11, 2006.
• Levin has role in solving AIDS crisis. Shayna Strom. December 06, 2006.
• Displays bring AIDS awareness to Worcester: Advocates urge affordable medicine. Shaun Sutner. Worcester Telegram & Gazettte (on UMass Medical School Chapter). December 02, 2006.
• Everyone can help in fight against AIDS. Robert Nelb. Yale Daily News. November 30, 2006.
• Fighting for affordable medicines. Samuel Dangremond. The Daily Pennsylvanian. November 29, 2006.
• Access to Medicine a Critical Public Issue. Debbie Liang. “New University” – UC Irvine’s Campus Newspaper. November 27, 2006.
• Affordable Medicine, Impossible No Longer. The Daily Cal (UC-Berkeley). Peter Maybarduk. November 21, 2006.
• Research for $ale: A New Deal On Lifesaving Drugs. Nicholas M. Ciarelli and Daniel J. T. Schuker. Harvard Crimson, November 13, 2006.
  • SIDEBAR: Toward a Consensus.
• Universities Must Democratize Access to Key Drugs. Patrick Toomey and Sara Crager. Yale Daily News, October 4, 2006.

FURTHER READING

• Addressing Global Health Inequities: An Open Licensing Approach for University Innovations. Amy Kapczynski et al. Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Vol. 20, p.1031 (2005).
• Interview with Dr. Carlos Correa, Signatory of the Philadelphia Consensus Statement. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Vol 84(5), May 2006.
• Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights. WHO Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health (CIPIH).
  The report’s Public Sector and University Patenting section, p.70, includes UAEM’s Statement of Principles. In addition see recommendation 2.12:
  
  

  Public research institutions and universities in developed countries should seriously consider initiatives designed to ensure that access to R&D outputs relevant to the health concerns of developing countries and to products derived therefrom, are facilitated through appropriate licensing policies and practices.

• Facilitating Humanitarian Access to Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Innovation. Brewster, Amanda L., Audrey R. Chapman and Stephen A. Hansen. Innovation Strategy Today. Vol. 1(3), p.203 (2005).
• Socially Responsible Licensing at U.C. Berkeley
• Research patently in the public interest. Barry Bergman. UC Berkeley News, December 2, 2005.
  Interview with Dr. Carol Mimura, Philadelphia Consensus Statement signatory and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances at U.C. Berkeley.

The Yale d4T Case
In 2001, Yale demonstrated the role universities can play to trigger dramatic price reductions in developing countries. Students, scientists, and the organization Doctors Without Borders asked Yale to help increase access to the AIDS drug stavudine or d4T in South Africa. Yale scientists discovered and patented d4T; the university subsequently licensed the drug to Bristol-Myers Squibb, which marketed it for $1,600 per patient per year. Under pressure from students, faculty, and the general public, Yale and Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to allow generic manufacturers of d4T to compete in certain markets, thus lowering the price of the drug to $55 per patient per year—a 96 percent reduction.

• Maker Yielding Patent in Africa for AIDS Drug. Melody Petersen and Donald G. McNeil Jr. The New York Times, March 15, 2001.
• A Molecular Offspring, Off to Join the AIDS Wars. Abigail Zuger. The New York Times, March 20, 2001. Interview with Yale Scientist and developer of the AIDS drug stavudine, Dr. William Prusoff.
• Amy and Goliath. Salon.com, May 1st, 2001.

The Emory - Gilead Deal
The Yale- d4T case was an isolated one. The more recent Emory – Gilead story underscores that missed opportunities have real human costs. Last year, Emory University, Gilead Sciences, and Royalty Pharma announced a deal in which Emory sold its 20% royalty rights in the ARVs Emtriva and Truvada for an up-front payment of $525 million (http://www.news.emory.edu/Releases/emtri/). Emory could have used this sale to negotiate conditions about Gilead’s licensing, registration, and patenting practices, but did not. Although Gilead’s Access Program promises to supply 97 developing countries, the drugs are only available in a fraction of them. After the transaction, Emory has significantly less leverage to ensure its drugs are available in impoverished countries. This example demonstrates the importance of universities requiring humanitarian licensing provisions for all their health-related innovations.

• Gilead Faces Criticism Over Drug Access. The Washington Post, June 4, 2006.

Yale and Ed4T
Ed4T is just one example of a promising university-developed AIDS treatments coming down the pipeline. Developed by Yale researcher Dr. Y.C. Cheng, Ed4T is based on d4T, but less toxic and more potent than its predecessor. On June 27 2006, Yale licensed Ed4T to Oncolys BioPharma of Japan. After pressure from students and the press, Yale committed not to patent the drug in low income countries or in most middle income countries. However, the licensing agreement for Ed4T has no provisions to deal with the numerous other potential legal barriers to access. Nor is the university currently pursuing any concrete strategy to make sure Ed4T is available in the developing world should it complete clinical trials.