Background:

NEW YORK, November 19, 2013 – At the first meeting of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators since the intellectual property chapter of the secret trade agreement was leaked last week, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges countries to stand strong against the attack on access to affordable medicines.

New TB drug bedaquiline illustrates need for paradigm shift in developing and ensuring accessto new treatment combinations.

New study shows that, despite some progress, only 4% of new drugs and vaccines approved 2000-2011 were for neglected diseases, and a ‘fatal imbalance’ remains in R&D for many neglected patients.

Brasilia/Rio de Janeiro, 9 October 2013 — Brazil has joined a growing list of middle-income countries taking action in tackling the high cost of medicines, with the launch today of a parliamentary committee report that recommends reforming Brazil’s patent law and introducing new models of innovation. International medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) welcomed the high-level report, ‘Brazil’s Patent Reform: innovation towards national competitiveness’, saying it should spur the Brazilian Parliament to support legislation that would reform Brazil’s patent law to improve access to affordable medicines.

On sidelines of APEC Summit, US may propose differential treatment for some countries, which still blocks access to medicines for millions

New Delhi/ New York, 25 September 2013 - On the eve of a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that India is facing an onslaught of political pressure from the U.S. government and pharmaceutical industry in retaliation for the country’s entirely legal actions to limit abusive patenting practices and increase access to affordable generic medicines. This pressure is likely to increase through negotiations of a potential bilateral investment treaty between the US and India, which is on the agenda for the meeting.

Trade & Industry’s draft IP policy lays foundation to prevent abusive patents from blocking access to affordable medicines.

August 22, 2013, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam  - The far-reaching Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) should be a force for improving health outcomes for the more than half a billion people in twelve countries affected by the pact, but instead negotiators are moving towards finalizing a deal that in fact would restrict access to affordable medicines and constrain governments’ ability to protect the health of their citizens, warned Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

An urgent health threat in Myanmar is drawing together leading experts to explore new ways to tackle the drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) crisis. Forms of TB that cannot be treated with standard drugs are presenting at an alarming rate in the country, with an estimated 8,900 people newly infected every year. Yet only a fraction of people with the disease, 800 by the end of 2012, receive treatment. Untreated, the airborne and infectious disease is fatal. Rapid scale-up of DR-TB care is urgently needed country-wide to save lives and stem the unchecked crisis.