Posts written by verrac

The EU-US Trade Deal Could Leave Europeans Sick

by TESSEL MELLEMA and ALIÉNOR DEVALIÈRE   Some help us for a while. Some cure us entirely. No doubt, medicines—when they’re available and affordable—play a crucial role in helping us…
Chris Verra Media
4 February 2015

World Health Assembly Executive Board 136: YP-CDN, NWIA and HAI intervention on the WHO’s internship programme

4 February 2015 | by TIM REED   At the 136th World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board meeting in Geneva this past week, we had the privilege of developing an…
Chris Verra Media
4 February 2015

World Health Assembly Executive Board 136: YP-CDN and HAI intervention on the progress achieved in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases

by KAVITHA KOLAPPA (Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network) and TIM REED (HAI) Thank you Chair and esteemed delegates: I am speaking on behalf of Health Action International and the Young Professionals Chronic…
Chris Verra Media
2 February 2015

HAI Launches Innovative Global Study to Improve Access to Insulin

by MARG EWEN, Global Pricing Co-ordinator and ACCISS Study Co-investigator The global need for insulin, a hormone that converts sugar, starches and other food into needed energy for everyday activities,…
Chris Verra Media
16 January 2015

In memory of our Foundation Board Chair, Atze Sybrandy

by TIM REED We will greatly miss the Chair of our Foundation Board, Atze Sybrandy, who passed away peacefully on 21 December. We are immensely saddened by the passing of our…
Chris Verra Media
8 January 2015

More work needed on new EMA conflicts of interest policy

by ANCEL.LA SANTOS QUINTANO In late November, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published a revised policy on conflicts of interest. For many, the revised policy came as a bit of a surprise,…
Chris Verra Media
9 December 2014

Student Stop AIDS National Gathering an inspiring start to Access to Medicines Week

by ALIÉNOR DEVALIÈRE Hundreds of students attended the Student Stop AIDS National Gathering on 1 November. (Photo courtesy of Saoirse Fitzpatrick.) Exciting, refreshing, stimulating and innovative. This describes the Student Stop AIDS…
Chris Verra Media
10 November 2014

EMA policy on clinical data publication a step ahead, but falls short of true potential

by ANCEL.LA SANTOS QUINTANO (Image courtesy of pakorn / www.freedigitalphotos.net) Although it’s a step in the right direction, the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) long-awaited clinical data publication policy—adopted on 2…
Chris Verra Media
15 October 2014

Abysmal decisions: Why the EC’s medicinal units shouldn’t be moved to DG Industry

by TIM REED Last week, European Commission (EC) president-elect, Jean-Claude Juncker, announced his plan to move the units responsible for pharmaceutical policy from their rightful place at DG Health to…
Chris Verra Media
18 September 2014

Democracy violation: European Commission rejects citizens’ initiative to stop TTIP and CETA

by MADALINA TRUSCA Photo courtesy of: Mehr Demokratie https://www.flickr.com/photos/mehr-demokratie/14064326877/ CC BY-SA 2.0 As the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the United States (US)…
Chris Verra Media
16 September 2014

Organic farming practices at Highgrove could offer "princely" contribution to curtailing antibiotic resistance

by TIM REED What do Dame Sally Davis (the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officer), Prue Leith (restaurateur, television presenter/broadcaster and writer), Joe Wood (model, television personality and entrepreneur) and me,…
Chris Verra Media
24 July 2014

School's IN for summer: HAI staff and interns inspired by Utrecht University's course on pharmaceutical policy analysis

by PETRONILLE BOGAERT, MOSTAFA EL YAMANY and ALIÉNOR DEVALIÈRE HAI’s staff and interns attended Utrecht University’s summer school course on pharmaceutical policy analysis last week. Three HAI staff members and interns embarked on a “short-distance”…
Chris Verra Media
15 July 2014

Setting precedents: EMA must get clinical trial data policy right to truly act in public interest

by Ancel.la Santo QuintanoFollowing its management board meeting on 12 June, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that it had agreed on a “more user-friendly” policy on the publication of…
Chris Verra Media
23 June 2014

HAI Europe calls on EMA's Management Board to stand for data transparency

by ANCEL.LA SANTOS QUINTANOThe European Medicines Agency (EMA) Management Board is expected to vote tomorrow on a new policy on clinical trial data transparency.  Previously, the EMA appeared committed to…
Chris Verra Media
11 June 2014

BMJ statins debate about scientific independence, not rigour

by TIM REED Last October, an analysis of statins was published in the BMJ: ‘Should people at low risk of cardiovascular disease take a statin?’ (Abramson, J. et al., BMJ…
Chris Verra Media
11 June 2014

Hoping for "harmony" on global antibiotic resistance strategy

WHO director-general, Margaret Chan, and HAI executive director, Tim Reed, at a WHA67 event. Those of us who attended the 67th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva were slightly disappointed that we were…
Chris Verra Media
5 June 2014

Week in review: Outcomes from WHA67

by TIM REED Health Action International was encouraged by the results of the 67th World Health Assembly where more than 20 resolutions were passed on various public health issues. Throughout the…
Chris Verra Media
28 May 2014

Progress on access to medicines at WHA67, but WHO funding sorely needed

by TIM REED Access to essential medicines was a hot topic at the 67th World Health Assembly (WHA) last week in Geneva. Given our ‘official relations’ status with the World…
Chris Verra Media
28 May 2014

World Health Assembly: HAI and ARC intervention on antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance

by TIM REED and SHILA KAUR (on behalf of HAI and the Antibiotic Resistance Coalition)In the face of what is undoubtedly a global health emergency, we welcome this resolution and…
Chris Verra Media
26 May 2014

World Health Assembly 67: HAI and KEI intervention on the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development

by THIRU BALASUBRAMANIAM (on behalf of HAI and KEI) Health Action International (HAI) and Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) encourage the World Health Organization (WHO) to move forward on the recommendation of…
Chris Verra Media
26 May 2014

World Health Assembly 67: HAI intervention on access to essential medicines

by TIM REED Health Action International (HAI) welcomes the resolution on access to medicines and is reassured that access to medicines is, again, being moved to prominence on the global…
Chris Verra Media
26 May 2014

World Health Assembly 67: HAI intervention on the WHO's framework of engagement with non-state actors

by TIM REEDAs member states will be aware, Health Action International (HAI) has the status of Official Relations with World Health Organization (WHO), based on over fifteen years of collaborative…
Chris Verra Media
20 May 2014

Action on antimicrobial resistance: It’s about time (and we’re running out)

by TIM REED If the words ‘antimicrobial resistance’ (AMR) don’t set your pulse racing out of fear, a read of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) new global AMR surveillance report…
Chris Verra Media
5 May 2014

Tamiflu review shows desperate need for full clinical trials data transparency

by ANCEL.LA SANTOS QUINTANOToday, the British Medical Journal published the Cochrane Collaboration’s updated systematic review on Tamiflu (oseltamivir).The inclusion in the review of clinical study reports (CSRs)—comprehensive documents prepared by…
Chris Verra Media
10 April 2014

Governments must ensure Big Pharma’s expansion in Africa doesn’t impede generics supply

by MARGARET EWEN Last week, GSK announced its intention to open manufacturing plants in various African countries. This is not a surprise given the expanding consumer market in Africa, which…
Chris Verra Media
7 April 2014

New materials help assess medicines policies and interventions

by MARGARET EWENMany countries, no matter their geographic region or level of economic development, have tremendous opportunity to improve medicines prices, availability and affordability for their citizens. To aid in…
Chris Verra Media
3 March 2014

A new (and improved) model to regulate pharmaceutical promotion

An early example of pharmaceutical promotion from the Chico Weekly Record, 11 December, 1897.  by TIM REED In a perfect world, there would be a complete ban on pharmaceutical promotion…
Chris Verra Media
24 February 2014

Enhancing accountability in the medicines market: The Medicines Transparency Alliance

by TIM REED and RENÉE VASBINDER Roberto Pagdanganan, MeTA Philippines Chair, Renee Vasbinder, HAI, Cecile Sison, MeTA Philippines Country Coordinator, Tim Reed, HAI, and Deirdre Dimancesco, WHO, at the 2014 MeTA Philippines…
Chris Verra Media
12 February 2014

Bayer CEO's callous comments highlight failure of current biomedical innovation model

by TESSEL MELLEMA Last week, Bayer CEO, Marijn Dekkers, caused global indignation when, in a Bloomberg Businessweek article, he was quoted as saying that his company’s cancer drug, Nexavar, had never…
Chris Verra Media
31 January 2014

Leaks and Lies: Pharma’s strategy to derail South Africa’s intellectual property reforms exposed

by TESSEL MELLEMA South Africa’s intellectual property (IP) reforms were, once again, in the spotlight last week after it emerged that multinational pharmaceutical companies, led by their industry associations in South…
Chris Verra Media
31 January 2014