An Introduction to Universities Allied for Essential Medicines UAEM

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An Introduction to Universities Allied for
Essential Medicines (UAEM)

• David Minh
• UC San Diego
• 1/17/2006

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UAEM

• The Problem
• Research Gap
• Access Gap
• Approaches to addressing the problem
• The UAEM story
• The proposed solution
• Equitable Access License/Neglected Disease
  License
• Alliance
• UAEM at UCSD discussion

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Modern Medicine and Global Health

• A common assumption modern medicine continues to
  improve global health
• Smallpox eradication
• Polio rare
• Lots of money spent on basic and applied medical
  research
• Taxpayers (28.6 billion NIH budget for 2006)
• Pharmaceutical companies
• Trickle down effect

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Is there a natural trickle-down?

• The truth two gaps
• Research Gap
• Access Gap
• If you want to save the world, doing medical
  research is not enough
• UAEM founded to bridge these gaps people should
  not die preventable deaths because they lack
  medication

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The Research Gap

• Government follows taxpayer priorities
• Prioritizes western diseases, i.e. cancer
• Even with overlap, there are shortcomings
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• Type I common in US, type II in Africa
• Lack of pediatric, heat-resistant formulations
• Low material cost is not a priority
• Military invests in malaria
• Artemisinin is a natural product

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The Research Gap

• Industry obeys the bottom line
• RD is expensive (gt 100 million, lowest
  estimate)
• Costs must be recouped by sales
• People in developed nations can afford to pay for
  drugs, both necessary and lifestyle drugs (i.e.
  hair growth, acne, skin care, sexual performance)
• People in poor countries cannot afford to pay for
  RD, even for vital drugs
• Therefore, pharmaceutical companies do not
  develop the drugs

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Approaches to aiding global health

• International trade policy and government
  lobbying Bono, Doctors without Borders (MSF)
  Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines
• Philanthropic funding Bill and Melinda Gates
  Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation
• Non-profit pharmaceutical companies
• Industrial partnerships Drugs for Neglected
  Diseases Initiative (DNDi)
• University licensing policies and research
  priorities - UAEM

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Why the University?

• Philosophical commitment to public good over
  profit
• Held by most faculty and students
• Often included in university vision statements
• Good PR
• Intellectual property ownership 50 of drugs
  start at the university

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The UAEM Story Yale and Stavudine

• Stavudine discovered as AIDS treatment at Yale in
  early 1990s
• In 2001, Doctors without Borders (MSF) asked Yale
  to not enforce its patent in South Africa
• Yale already granted an exclusive worldwide
  license to Bristol-Myers-Squibb
• After grass-roots advocacy campaign, Yale and BMS
  agreed not to enforce their patents
• Costs fell by 95, to 55/yr
• UAEM formed as preemptive access campaign

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The UAEM Proposal The Equitable Access License

• Basic premise pharmaceutical companies recoup
  RD costs in developed countries, but allow
  generic competition in low- to middle- income
  (LMI) countries
• Automatic invocation
• Work at the level of the university technology
  transfer office, before licensing agreements are
  formulated

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Potential Objections to the Equitable Access
License

• Objection
• Costly
• Parallel importation
• Reimportation

• Response
• LMI nations are small market
• profit loss similar to 3 days of currency
  fluctuations
• Different pill design
• It is illegal
• Typical border enforcement
• Generics in India for 30 yrs

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The UAEM Proposal The Neglected Disease License

• RD becomes increasingly expensive because of
  royalties for research tools
• NDL allows for royalty-free use of technologies
  for ND research

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How is this all going to happen?

• Increased leverage through unity Industry
  doesnt need one particular university, but needs
  universities as a whole. There are over 20
  chapters nationwide.
• Support from students and faculty
• Discussions with technology transfer offices

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UAEM_at_UCSD - Formulating the vision

• The largest UAEM chapters are at Yale and
  Berkeley, which both have law schools
• UCSD has a medical campus and large biological
  sciences departments
• More emphasis on research?

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UAEM_at_UCSD Upcoming goals

• Club registration with SOLO
• Constitution
• Wider introductory and publicity events (does SD
  have to be apathetic?)
• Connections with faculty and departments
• Medical school
• Basic and Biomedical sciences
• Contact with the technology transfer office

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UAEM_at_UCSD Commitments and Benefits

• Help save the world, bring social justice
• Get out what you put in
• Organizational leadership experience
• Opportunity to get to know faculty better