Bolivia

Medicines regulators from Mexico, Colombia and Cuba have pledged to create a new agency for medicines and medical devices of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Biolyse is seeking a compulsory license for J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine but achieving its goal is proving to be far from easy. The Canadian company argues that its experience illustrates the need for a change in approach to intellectual property rights at a local and global level.

Latin American countries are continuing to pursue a strategy of jointly negotiating medicine prices to get a better deal on expensive medicines. However, manufacturers have expressed doubt that this is the best way forward.

Although the World Health Organization has been removed as a direct stakeholder in potential discussions on developing a global biomedical R&D treaty under the global strategy and action plan, other avenues are open for the treaty, member states of the World Health Assembly (WHA) heard today.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Abbott Laboratories and Baxter Healthcare have joined the charity Direct Relief International to help stop the spread of dengue fever in Bolivia.