Technical Cooperation Activities under TRIPS Art. 67. - View details of the document

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IP/C/R/TC/UNCTAD/3

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1. Submitting Member or Intergovernmental Organization

Submitting Member or Intergovernmental Organization

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

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On behalf of other Members

2. Report Information

Date of Council meeting setting submission deadline

Brief description of general approach to technical cooperation

1 INTRODUCTION

The UNCTAD Secretariat, through its Intellectual Property Unit, located within the Division on Investment and Enterprise, implements a programme on advancing the development dimension of intellectual property (IP) rights. Taking into account international and regional initiatives, such as those by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and World Health Organization (WHO), and the mandate under the Georgetown Covenant of 2021, UNCTAD focuses on improving the effective participation of developing countries in international IP norm setting, upgrading national IP policies and advancing regional cooperation on IP rights. It also works on building coherence between IP, investment and trade policies to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, to address the changes brought by frontier technologies and to build productive capacity in vital sectors of developing countries’ economies, with a priority on the pharmaceutical and vaccine sectors. The work programme is partially funded by donor governments and institutions. Currently, the work programme targets technical assistance and capacity building in areas related to (1) local pharmaceutical and vaccines production, including in the context of COVID-19 and anti-microbial resistance (AMR); (2) regional and national policies on intellectual property; and (3) the role of IP in technology and R&D partnerships.

Contact email for this report or updates

ermias.biadgleng@un.org

3. Notes

List of programmes/projects

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#	Title of programme or activity	Start date	Beneficiary Members or observers
1	Addressing national investment incentives for local production of essential antibiotics	01/07/2021	Kenya; Uganda
2	Addressing investment incentives for production and supply of essential antibiotics at regional level (East African Community)	01/07/2021	Burundi; Kenya; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda
3	Pandemic preparedness beyond COVID-19: Investing in vaccines production and supply for LMICs	21/10/2021	Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Armenia; Bahrain, Kingdom of; Barbados; Belize; Bolivia, Plurinational State of; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Cabo Verde; Cameroon; Chile; China; Colombia; Congo; Costa Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Eswatini; Fiji; Gabon; Georgia; Ghana; Grenada; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; Israel; Jamaica; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait, the State of; Kyrgyz Republic; Macao, China; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritius; Mexico; Moldova, Republic of; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Namibia; Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Oman; Pakistan; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Qatar; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Seychelles; Singapore; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Suriname; Chinese Taipei; Tajikistan; Thailand; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Türkiye; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uruguay; Vanuatu; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of; Viet Nam; Zimbabwe
4	Advisory services on technology transfer and intellectual property enablement for vaccines manufacturing	01/07/2021	Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Egypt; Eswatini; Gabon; The Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Tanzania; Togo; Tunisia; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
5	Technical advice on regional cooperation for pharmaceutical sector development	10/11/2021	Burundi; Kenya; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda
6	Capacity building and advisory services on regional cooperation on intellectual property rights	01/07/2020	Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Egypt; Eswatini; Gabon; The Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Tanzania; Togo; Tunisia; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
7	Intellectual property and public health: Case law database	01/06/2020	Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Armenia; Bahrain, Kingdom of; Barbados; Belize; Bolivia, Plurinational State of; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Cabo Verde; Cameroon; Chile; China; Colombia; Congo; Costa Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Eswatini; Fiji; Gabon; Georgia; Ghana; Grenada; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; Israel; Jamaica; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait, the State of; Kyrgyz Republic; Macao, China; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritius; Mexico; Moldova, Republic of; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Namibia; Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Oman; Pakistan; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Qatar; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Seychelles; Singapore; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Suriname; Chinese Taipei; Tajikistan; Thailand; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Türkiye; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uruguay; Vanuatu; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of; Viet Nam; Zimbabwe
8	Partnership for capacity building and technical assistance on IP rights and sustainable development	01/07/2021	Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Armenia; Bahrain, Kingdom of; Barbados; Belize; Bolivia, Plurinational State of; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Cabo Verde; Cameroon; Chile; China; Colombia; Congo; Costa Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Eswatini; Fiji; Gabon; Georgia; Ghana; Grenada; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; Israel; Jamaica; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait, the State of; Kyrgyz Republic; Macao, China; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritius; Mexico; Moldova, Republic of; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Namibia; Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Oman; Pakistan; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Qatar; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Seychelles; Singapore; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Suriname; Chinese Taipei; Tajikistan; Thailand; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Türkiye; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uruguay; Vanuatu; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of; Viet Nam; Zimbabwe

Brief description

Whereas globally there is an urgent need to develop new antibiotics to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in many developing countries the use and availability of existing antibiotics needs equal attention in order to improve access to and stewardship of antibiotics. In this context, UNCTAD undertook national studies and organized webinars on investment incentives for local production of essential antibiotics in Uganda on 21 July 2021; Ethiopia on 8 September 2021 and Kenya on 13 October 2021. The webinars were organized in collaboration with the government agencies responsible for health and industry with a view to validate the findings and recommendations of the national studies on local production of antibiotics and their alignment with the efforts to tackle AMR. The broad objective of the programme is to develop better incentive regimes for domestic pharmaceutical firms to maintain a diverse portfolio of essential antibiotics in the market in a manner supportive of the policies to control AMR. The technical assistance programme for the three countries will continue until June 2023 with the financial support from the United Nations Development Account and in partnership with WHO and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Beneficiary institution or audience

Policy makers and regulatory agencies responsible for public health, national strategies to tackle AMR, investment and industry, representatives of pharmaceutical industry, civil society and academia.

Technical cooperation provider(s)

UNCTAD

Outputs or impact

1. Successful capacity building of national stakeholders on the need for the alignment of policies to combat AMR and to promote an incentive framework for local production of antibiotics; 2. Identification of gaps and strength in the current national policies and incentives for pharmaceutical sector development; and 3. Consensus building on key intervention areas to expand existing local productive capacity in essential antibiotics.

Website for further information

https://unctad.org/project/investment-incentives-local-production-essential-antibiotics-east-africa

Contact point for further information

Ermias Tekeste Biadgleng, Legal Affairs Officer, Intellectual Property Unit, UNCTAD. E-mail: ermias.biadgleng@un.org

Brief description

In addition to its work at national level, UNCTAD is supporting the East African Community (EAC) to build regional level cooperation for the production and supply of antibiotics. In this context, UNCTAD undertook a study for regional cooperation; organized a series of national consultative meetings (virtually or in hybrid) in each of the EAC partner states from 26 July to 6 August 2021; and held a regional validation workshop during the 2nd Regional meeting of the Taskforce on Procurement of Pharmaceutical Products of EAC on 10 November 2021. For the regional work programme in 2021 and 2022, UNCTAD partnered with the East African regional support programme of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in order to facilitate the national consultative meetings and the regional workshop. The technical assistance programme for EAC will continue until June 2023 with the financial support from the United Nations Development Account and in partnership with EAC Secretariat, UNECA and WHO.

Beneficiary institution or audience

Representatives of health, industry and investment policy makers and regulators of EAC partner states and focal points for regional cooperation.

Technical cooperation provider(s)

UNCTAD

Outputs or impact

1. Improved understanding of policies to tackle AMR and incentives for production of antibiotics; 2. Consensus building on the need for reginal cooperation, including information exchange on supply of antibiotics; and 3. A regional decision for the (i) substantive development and implementation of a regional policy framework to promote investment into antibiotics production; (ii) operationalizing information exchange among partner states on antibiotics that experience shortage for potential cooperation on pooled procurement; and (iii) the development regional cooperation on AMR.

Website for further information

https://unctad.org/project/investment-incentives-local-production-essential-antibiotics-east-africa

Contact point for further information

Ermias Tekeste Biadgleng, Legal Affairs Officer, Intellectual Property Unit, UNCTAD. E-mail: ermias.biadgleng@un.org

Brief description

UNCTAD organized a webinar on investing in vaccines production capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in partnership with WHO as part of the 7th World Investment Forum, 2021. The objective of the webinar was to take stock of the existing international partnerships and initiatives, including the gaps and the means for further cooperation to building vaccines production capacity in LMICs. During the webinar, key global and strategic players came together to discuss the progress so far and exchange views on the way forward.

Beneficiary institution or audience

Development partners, regional organizations, national governments, private sector and civil society.

Technical cooperation provider(s)

UNCTAD and WHO. The panellists included representatives of European Commission, Africa CDC, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI), African Development Bank (AfDB), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), GIZ, and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Outputs or impact

Panellists reviewed the progress so far under the various initiatives, including that of the COVAX Manufacturing Task Force, the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the European Union, Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), among others. They have identified the successes of the global initiatives, including the mobilization of resources, collection of data on existing productive capacity, establishment of the mRNA hub in South Africa and various investment initiatives for vaccines production. Many of the panellists expressed that a viable international cooperation is taking shape. There are, however, important areas that require additional global effort, including market shaping, strengthening regulatory capacity and partnerships to promote development of products and new vaccine technologies.

Website for further information

https://worldinvestmentforum.unctad.org/session/pandemic-preparedness-beyond-covid-19/

Contact point for further information

Ermias Tekeste Biadgleng, Legal Affairs Officer, Intellectual Property Unit, UNCTAD. E-mail: ermias.biadgleng@un.org