February 5, 2021
Johannesburg: 5 February 2021 The supply of safe and effective vaccines for all is being artificially rationed because of the protection of exclusive rights and monopolies of pharmaceutical corporations, the People’s Vaccine Alliance said today. The alliance warned that the three biggest vaccine companies in the world are largely sitting on the sidelines – they […]
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Press Release 1 February 2021 The Doha Declaration states that countries can and should interpret the Agreement on the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in a manner that protects public health, including ensuring access to essential medicines for all. So why are the representatives of the USA, UK, EU, Australian Japan, Brasil […]
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November 5, 2020
It’s critical that there is equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available. Having seen how patents can act as barriers to access to medicines in the past, we need to make sure everyone everywhere can access effective COVID-19 medicines – and that requires intellectual property reform. Fix The Patent Laws Coalition, a […]
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October 15, 2020
15 October 2020, Johannesburg – The Fix the Patent Laws Coalition (FTPL), a group of over 40 organisations working to reform South Africa’s patent laws, welcomes the progressive proposal by South Africa and India for a waiver of all intellectual property in respect of COVID-19 related diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. We have seen how a […]
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May 20, 2020
The letter reproduced below was sent to President Cyril Ramaphosa on 19 May 2020 by more than 80 leading academics, researchers and teachers in South Africa. They urge the President to urgently reform South Africa’s patent laws and take further steps to ensure access to COVID-19 related health products. The original letter can be accessed […]
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May 18, 2020
Johannesburg, 18th May — In a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa published today, the Fix the Patent Laws (FTPL) coalition outlined major concerns about South Africa’s ability to access future treatments or vaccines for COVID-19. They point out that the country’s outdated patent laws ensure that when effective treatments become available, they will likely be too […]
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April 20, 2020
This article was originally published in Spotlight here. 20th April 2020 | Prof Yousuf Vawda and Prof Brook K. Baker The path to patent law reform in South Africa has been long and arduous. But the need for finalisation of legislation is now even more urgent given the COVID-19 pandemic and the expected rush to […]
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April 15, 2020
This article was originally published on Spotlight here. 15th April 2020 | Catherine Tomlinson Around the turn of the century developing countries, led by African countries, dramatically fought for and won safeguards to promote access to medicines in international trade law. These safeguards are now being heralded by lawmakers around the world as critical legal […]
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July 9, 2019
Johannesburg (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 […]
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June 13, 2019
Contact: Ngqabutho Mpofu (Treatment Action Campaign): 27 61 807 6443| ngqabutho.mpofu@tac.org.za Lotti Rutter (Health GAP): +27 82 065 5842| lotti@healthgap.org (Durban, South Africa)— Today activists stormed the corporate stall of multinational pharmaceutical company Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) at the 9th South African AIDS Conference. The activists demanded that Janssen urgently drop the price of […]
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