Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) is classified as an AIDS defining cancer, as it is highly prevalent among cancer patients living with HIV. This is because HIV suppresses the immune system which makes people living with HIV (PLWHIV) much more susceptible to viruses which cause cancer, such as the Epstein–Barr virus which can cause NHL. Preliminary results […]
READ MORE23 April, Johannesburg — In 2018, Cabinet adopted the South African Policy on Intellectual Property, Phase 1. It heralded a new era in medicine access. Yet three years later and nothing has changed in the lives of people in South Africa, who right now continue to need medicines that remain unaffordable and out of reach. “The […]
READ MOREJohannesburg (9 July 2019) — It was announced today that lenalidomide, a lifesaving medicine to treat multiple myeloma, has been included on the latest edition of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Essential Medicines List (EML). Welcoming the inclusion of lenalidomide on the list, among 5 new cancer medicines, the Fix the Patent Laws campaign (a […]
READ MOREStatement from 64 civil society organisations and coalitions ahead of the second meeting of the Fair Pricing Forum, hosted by the World Health Organization and South African government April 11-13th in Johannesburg. The Fair Pricing Forum will ask what is a fair price for a medicine? We accept that different stakeholders will have different understandings […]
READ MOREIt is with immense sadness that the Fix the Patent Laws (FTPL) Coalition shares the news of the passing of a dear friend and brave patient advocate, Sue Johnson. Sue was a mother of two children and grandmother to two girls. She was born in the UK and moved to South Africa in 1983, where […]
READ MOREFinalise the draft policy and amend laws to save lives, activists tell dti 24-10-2017 PRETORIA – Today, more than 1,000 members of the Fix the Patent Laws Coalition (FTPL) will march to the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) in support of the government’s efforts to fix our patent laws and ensure everyone has access […]
READ MOREThis letter was issued by the Tobeka Daki Campaign for Access to Trastuzumab to the Human Rights Council today – on International Women’s Day – as they convene a panel discussion on access to medicines in the context of the right to health. The letter can be accessed here. —— Dear High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad […]
READ MOREACTIVISTS AROUND THE WORLD MARCH #ForTobeka – Demonstrations held at Roche & pharma associations in South Africa, Malaysia, UK, France, Zambia, Brazil, US – 108 organisations endorse a letter to Roche Tuesday, 7th February 2017 – Swiss multinational company Roche faced […]
READ MOREThe Fix the Patent Laws coalition applauds the speech given by the South African Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, today as he presented the budget for his Department to Parliament. We welcome his strong stance taken on the costs of cancer drugs, specifically trastuzumab (marketed as Herceptin), around which the Fix the Patent Laws […]
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