Panel says governments should increase investment in drugs research, to allow development of new treatments for neglected diseases such as Ebola and Zika

A United Nations high-level panel on access to medicines has called for major changes to the way in which research and development (R&D) of life-saving medicines is funded in order to make them more affordable for patients around the world and fight neglected diseases.

The report from the panel, established by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, warns that “it is imperative that governments increase their current levels of investment in health technology innovation” in order to provide “fair rewards for the inventors while ensuring that prices remain fair and affordable”.

The panel, which was made up of a wide range of global experts, including pharmaceutical industry leaders, public health officials and human rights campaigners, recommended that “innovative financing methods … delink the costs of R&D from the end prices of health technologies”. The final report also called for greater transparency of R&D costs, something campaigners have long pushed for.

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While campaigners and pharmaceutical companies have fought bitterly over the price of drugs such as the pneumonia vaccine, a lack of commercial interest has meant a dangerous paucity of investment in diseases such as Ebola and in the production of new antibiotics. Strains of tuberculosis that are resistant to current antibiotics are a global problem.

The panel’s joint-chair, former Swiss president Ruth Dreifuss, said many campaigners around the world had high expectations for the panel’s work.

“I am aware of all the hopes, and I cannot say we responded to all of them but the report will allow some steps forward. The most important thing is to act.

“There are some great priorities that are neglected by the traditional way that innovation and access is dealt with – important challenges such as neglected diseases like Ebola and Zika, which didn’t mobilise enough innovation.”

She says that the problem of drugs pricing affects rich countries as well as poorer nations. “We see this in oncology and with hepatitis C – because of the … financialisation of the pharmaceutical industry they are not available for all in need. There is a trend to ration some [drugs] and this idea of a two-tier medicine is just unacceptable.”

Companies such as GlaxoSmithKline have taken steps to reduce the cost of drugs for poorer countries but campaigners want more comprehensive change to the system.



On the panel was Andrew Witty, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline; he defended the role of big pharma. “The huge achievements of the current system of healthcare innovation are often ignored or taken for granted. It is often forgotten that almost all of the world’s medical technology has come directly from, or with the enormous contribution of the research-based pharmaceutical, biotechnology or med-tech industries.” He argues in the report against relying on de-linkage of research funds, warning that it “will likely not be appropriate or useful for many therapy areas”.

The panel had a wide remit, looking at issues of human rights, trade, intellectual property and public health objectives.



Mohga Kamal-Yanni, senior health policy adviser at Oxfam, gave evidence to the panel. She said it had a genuinely open approach but that unless action was taken immediately it would end up being “just another report”.

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“We have been working on access to medicines for decades now and the problem is escalating, not getting better. The core problem is that the current research and development system … is dictated by commercial interests so there are no new medicines for TB but there are medicines [from which drugs companies] can make a lot of money. And when we do have a good product they are very highly priced – so you can have a pill that cures hepatitis C but is $1,000 a day.”

She says that Oxfam believes the panel has the senior backing in the UN to make recommendations that would be listened to. “It was about human rights being discussed at the highest level. There were some really good recommendations … and they should be acted on right now, no delay. The secretary general must start a process of government negotiating that is based on de-linking the cost of R&D from the cost of the product … Governments have to take it seriously and put their weight behind it.”