IFPMA Roundtable – How better access to patent information can facilitate medicines procurement

International Conference Center of Geneva (CICG), Rue de Varambé 17, Geneva

Efficiency of procurement is an important factor in access to medicines. Building procurement capacity contributes to efforts of low- and middle-income countries to improve health, meet the Sustainable Development Goals, and achieve universal health coverage (UHC). Institutional, technical and administrative barriers are potential constraints to efficient procurement and navigating the patent landscape of medicines can be sometimes an added complication. A few tools exist to minimize the complexities around understanding the patent status of specific, registered medicines.

How do these tools work? Are they sufficiently used? Are other solutions needed to improve understanding of patent status of medicines? Are they a meaningful contribution to the efficiency of the procurement process?

Geneva-based missions, international organizations, NGOs and partnerships involved in medicine procurement, as well as the private sector are invited to attend.

Simultaneous interpretation FR/ENG and ENG/FR available.

The roundtable format means that numbers of places are limited. The organisers will aim to include as many different stakeholders as possible.

Please register here: events@ifpma.org and emails will be sent confirming participation.

16:00

Welcome – IFPMA, Greg Perry, Assistant Director General

16:10

OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE OF PATENT INFORMATION IN MEDICINES PROCUREMENT

Recent report – findings and recommendations – Medicines procurement landscaping and opportunities to professionalise procurement. Understanding the institutional inefficiencies. Center for Global Development, Senior Policy Analyst and Assistant Director of Global Health, Janeen Madan Keller
• Medicines procurement patent landscaping testimonials – The daily challenges of medicines procurement experts:
– i+solutions – Wesley Kreft, Director Global Supply Chain
– Crown Agents – Christine Jackson, Project Director, Ukraine Ministry of Health Procurement Support
• Government commentary on medicines patent information
– Chile, Martin Correa, Head of the Intellectual Property Department of the General Directorate of International Economic Relations (Direcon) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
– Switzerland, Beatrice Stirner, Department Law & International Affairs, Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property & IPI Delegate in the SCP WIPO
• Existing patent-related resource platforms for medicines procurement – Overview of existing solutions:
– Medicines Patent Pool on MedsPaL – Esteban Burrone Head of Policy, MPP
– Pat-INFORMED initiative – Tom Bombelles WIPO & Guilherme Cintra IFPMA

17:10

INTERVENTIONS BY PARTICIPANTS & DISCUSSION – Forward looking agenda on patent information to facilitate medicines procurement

o Short-term – Feedback on existing solutions and discussion on what can be quick wins?
o Medium/longer term – What are the future needs and is there scope for collaboration?

Priority will be given to Missions and organizations who have requested to take the floor, including Novartis Alisa Harbin, Head, Global Intellectual Property and Cipla, Denis Broun, Head of Government Affairs

17:50

Summary highlights and next steps

18:00

End, followed by a reception

Tom Bombelles

Head, NGO and Industry Relations, WIPO, Switzerland

Denis Broun

Head of Government Affairs, Cipla, Switzerland

Esteban Burrone

Head of Policy, Medicines Patent Pool, Switzerland

Guilherme Cintra

Director, Innovation, Intellectual Property and Trade, IFPMA, Switzerland

Martín Correa

Head of the Intellectual Property Department of the General Directorate of International Economic Relations (Direcon) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chile