Representatives from more than 150 countries are meeting in Geneva this week at the World Health Assembly. One of their tasks is to complete the work of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Innovation, Public Health and Intellectual Property (IGWG) on a deal both to increase access to medicines in developing countries and to reform a system of medical research and development that has failed to deliver new treatments to patients in the developing world. Access Campaign director, Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer, says there's still a window of opportunity.
'What we wanted to see was governments prescribe some change to a broken system, but they have not risen to the challenge. Concrete proposals to ensure urgently needed drugs and diagnostics are developed for developing country diseases have not received support. Considering the colossal needs we see in MSF daily practice, this is a lost opportunity.’- Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer