Welcome to Day 2 of GISPA2M 2022!
Plenary III – Big Pharma’s multiverse of Madness
- Andrew Hill, University of Liverpool, UK
Andrew Hill graduated from Oxford University, with a PhD from the University of Amsterdam. He is currently a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool, specialising in access to medicine. He has worked with ITPC, MSF and Unitaid on research projects to support access to a wide range of medicines.
- Gabriela Chaves, Researcher
Gabriela Chaves is a consultant for ITPC-Global. She has over 15 years of experience working on approaches to address barriers to access to medicines, including patent barriers. For several years she worked for civil society organizations in Brazil advocating for solutions and campaigning on the problem of high prices of monopoly HIV medicines. As a researcher in public health at the Sergio Arouca National School of Public Health/Fiocruz, she has pioneered studies related to the analysis and practical solutions on the effects on access to medicines and procurement policies of intellectual property rights and industrial policies in Brazil.
- Zain Rizvi, Public Citizen, US (virtual recording)
Zain Rizvi is a research director at Public Citizen. He is an expert on pharmaceutical innovation and access to medicines. He has provided technical assistance to state and national governments, coordinated civil society coalitions, and published on intellectual property, access to medicines and global health. Zain obtained a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was student director of the Yale Global Health Justice Partnership.
- Gaëlle Krikorian, Independent Consultant, France
Gaëlle Krikorian is an activist and a sociologist involved on access to medicines issues since the mid-1990s. She advises NGOs and policy makers in national, regional and international organizations. Her researches concern social movements, globalization and international trade negotiations, public policies on health and technologies. She is the author of a number of articles on pharmaceutical policies, public policies involving medical technologies, social mobilizations and collective action, commons goods, and intellectual property rights.
- Sergey Biryukov, AGEPC, Kazakhstan
Sergey Biryukov is director of AGEP’C since 2011. AGEPC’s main objective is to provide people living with HIV and viral hepatitis with affordable medicines and free medical care. Its main activities are advocating to remove IP barriers to access to care including through compulsory licenses and voluntary licenses and law reform in areas related to IP and access to medicines.
- Francisco Rossi, IFARMA, Colombia
Francisco Rossi is a doctor and an epidemiologist. He has considerable experience on pharmaceutical sector policies in Latin American Countries, including on Intellectual property and access to medicines. He was a member of the health team of the Ministry of Health of Colombia during the IP negotiations of an FTA with the USA, and also as advisor for PAHO and UNDP on IP and access to medicines. He is a member of the global board of Health Action International since 2014, and was the member of the board of ITPC from 2011 -2017. He is the founder of IFARMA foundation in Colombia which is also an organization member of REDLAM. He was Director at IFARMA from 2007 – 2018 and is currently their senior adviser.
- Sergey Golovin ITPC EECA
Sergey Golovin has worked in the field of healthcare and treatment access for around 10 years, specializing in monitoring availability and prices of essential medicines and linking IP issues with the treatment access agenda. Currently, Sergey is Intellectual Property and Access Lead at the Treatment Preparedness Coalition in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, supervising a variety of research and advocacy projects with a focus on ways to improve treatment access using the resources of community organizations. Sergey has been a co-author of a number of articles and reports dedicated to treatment access issues, including a series of reports on HCV and HIV drug procurement in Russia, report on the community response to the HCV Epidemic in EECA, article about safety and efficacy of generic products imported for personal use etc. Sergey was part of the Global TB-CAB for two years and was involved in a number of projects related to access to TB drugs (including community advisory group meetings and drug procurement monitoring).
- Veriano Terto, ABIA, Brazil
Veriano Terto Jr is currently Vice-President of the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA). He is a psychologist and has a PhD degree in Public Health. Veriano is involved in AIDS activism since 1989, when he started his collaboration with ABIA. He lives with HIV since 1996.
Parallel Workshop III – Pandemic lessons for research and development of health technologies
- Els Torreele, Independent Medical Innovation for Access Advisor
Els Torreele is biomedical scientist who has worked for over 20 years as researcher and advocate at the interface of medical innovation, access to medicines, and socio-economic justice combining positions in academia, MSF, DNDi, and Open Society Foundations. She’s currently free-lance.”
- Tracy Swan, Access to Medicines Policy & Education Consultant (virtual)
Tracy Swan has been an AIDS activist since 1990; she has provided services at community health centers, hospitals, syringe exchange programs, correctional facilities and homeless shelters, led programs, and focused on improving development of, demand for and access to medical technologies for HIV, hepatitis C, COVID-19 and TB through her work with other activists and communities, Treatment Action Group, MSF Access Campaign, the US FDA antiviral advisory committee, the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, and US and WHO hepatitis C treatment guidelines panels.
Parallel Workshop IV – Pharmaceutical Sovereignty
- Gabriela Costa Chaves, Independent consultant
Gabriela Chaves is a consultant for ITPC-Global. She has over 15 years of experience working on approaches to address barriers to access to medicines, including patent barriers. For several years she worked for civil society organizations in Brazil advocating for solutions and campaigning on the problem of high prices of monopoly HIV medicines. As a researcher in public health at the Sergio Arouca National School of Public Health/Fiocruz, she has pioneered studies related to the analysis and practical solutions on the effects on access to medicines and procurement policies of intellectual property rights and industrial policies in Brazil.
- Petro Terblanche, Afrigen (virtual)
Professor Petro Terblanche has a successful track record in the strategic and operational management of technology intensive organizations. She has played a key part in the design and implementation of South Africa’s biotechnology strategy. She holds the position of Managing Director of Afrigen Biologics (Pty)Ltd based in Cape Town, South Africa. Afrigen hosts the global mRNA technology vaccine Hub under the COVAX initiative and has a mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate in development as part of a global program to build capacity and capabilities in LMICs to design, develop and produce mRNA vaccines.
- Patrick Tippoo, Biovac (virtual)
Patrick Tippoo has more than 30 years experience in the vaccine manufacturing industry. He has been with Biovac, a private public partnership in South Africa, since its inception in 2003. His responsibilities at Biovac have included product development, strategic alliance partnering, international relations, projects and business development. Currently as Head of Science and Innovation he is focused on growing Biovac’s product development capability and scientific & technical capacity as a centre of excellence for vaccine development and manufacture in Africa. He is a founding member of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) and is passionate about breaking Africa’s cycle of dependency and reliance on supply of much needed vaccines from outside Africa. He is a strong advocate for the establishment of vaccine development and manufacturing capacity in Africa. Patrick has also served as a member of the Executive Committee and the Grant Advisory Committee of the Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers’ Network (DCVMN) since 2014.
- German Velasquez, Senior Advisor, Health and Policy, South Centre
Dr. Germán VELÁSQUEZ is the Special Adviser on Policy and Health of the South Centre. He is the former World Health Organization (WHO) Director of the department on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property. He is the author of numerous publications on health economics and intellectual property and access to medicines. He is the President of the University Chair ‘Right to health and access to medicines’ at the Complutense University of Madrid. Dr. Velásquez has a Master’s in Economics and a PhD in Health Economics from the Sorbonne University, Paris, a PhD Honoris Causa on Public Health from the University of Caldas, Colombia and a PhD Honoris Causa from the School of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid.
- Viviana Munoz Tellez, Programme Coordinator, Health, Intellectual Property and Biodiversity, South Centre (10 min)
Dr. Viviana MUÑOZ TELLEZ is the Programme Coordinator of the Health, Intellectual Property and Biodiversity (HIPB) Programme of the South Centre. She leads the programme’s policy-oriented research, technical advice and capacity building in support of countries and institutions of the South. She holds a Doctorate degree on management of technology from the École Polytechnique of Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, having focused on R&D collaboration for biomedical innovation, and a Master’s degree in Development Management from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Roundtable I – Regional Patent Organizations
- Timothy Wafula, KELIN
Timothy Wafula is a health and human rights lawyer and the Program Manager, Health and Governance thematic area at the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDs (KELIN). He holds a Master’s degree in Law (public international law), a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. Timothy is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and was admitted to the Kenyan bar in January 2016. He has previously worked as a Program Officer (HIV and TB) at KELIN and as a Research Officer at the Parliament of Kenya (Senate). Timothy’s current research and programmatic focus areas are on universal health care and governance.
- Safiatou Simporé Diaz, YOLSE
Mrs Safiatou Simporé Diaz is a Burkina Faso & Swiss citizen and founded the NGO, Yolse, Public Health and Innovation in 2015. She has a Master’s degree in Life Sciences Law from the University of Geneva and a Bachelor of Law and Arts in International Relations from the same University. She works with CSO, Academia, Governments, the AUDA-NEPAD, the UN and the Global Health Organisation on addressing policy and regulatory bottlenecks to treatment access in sub-Saharan, particularly Francophone Africa. In 2015, she succeeded in promoting the decision of the TRIPS Council of 6 November 2015 concerning the extension of LDCs transition period for patents on pharmaceutical products and clinical trials, included in the most recent revision Bangui Agreement of OAPI.
- Maria Shibaeva, ITPC EECA
Maria Shibaeva is a senior legal analyst with a legal background in civil law. She’s been working with ITPC EECA for 5 years and now specializes in IP and Access to Treatment regulations.
- Olga Gurgula, Brunel University, UK
Dr Olga Gurgula is a Senior Lecturer in IP law at Brunel University London. She has served as expert consultant for international organisations, governments and nongovernmental organisations, mainly in the fields of IP and access to medicines. Olga is the author of many articles, including on IP and public health, strategic patenting by pharma companies and compulsory licensing of trade secrets to enhance access to COVID-19 vaccines. Olga qualified as a Ukrainian attorney in 2004. Before the commencement of her PhD research in 2013, she worked in private practice for over ten years.
- Juliana Veras, Medecins du Monde
Since 2020, Juliana Veras coordinates the mission on Drug pricing and health systems at Médecins du Monde France. With a legal background in Brazil, she concluded a PhD on social sciences in France at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales on the movement for access to HIV/Aids medicines in Brazil. As an academic and member of civil society, she has advocated for several years for access to medicines.
- Marina Chokeli, Georgia
Marina Chokheli is a lawyer. She holds a degree of Master of Law and Public Health and Health Policy. Marina has worked in the field of human rights and Public Health since 1999, in particular: in 1999-2010 she worked for Article 42 of the Constitution, as a board member in 2003-2006, and as an Executive Director of the organization in 2006-2009. Marina has been working for OSGF since 2010 as a coordinator of Public Health.
Roundtable II – Return of the FTAs
- Chalermsak Kittitrakul, AIDS Access Foundation
Chalermsak Kittitrakul works with AIDS Access Foundation as the Project Manager for Access to Medicines in Thailand. In addition to his roles on advocating for access to medicines by filing patent oppositions against frivolous patents on medicines and advocating for patent law reform in Thailand, he also works with the FTA Watch colleagues to oppose the FTA negotiations that introduce TRIPs plus provisions undermining access to medicines since 2003 when Thailand had FTA negotiation with the USA.
- Loon Gange, Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+) (virtual)
Loon Gangte is a treatment activist based in India. He has been living with HIV since 1997. He attributes his HIV status to his drug use with which he has a love-hate relationship. He has also had TB and hepatitis C. In 1999, with four other people living with HIV, Loon co-founded the Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+). Since then DNP+ has grown to over 1300 members and provides HIV related services across Delhi and often even in other States. Treatment activism is the core of Loon’s work which ranges from providing peer counselling and ensuring adherence to opposing patents on key HIV, TB and HCV medicines and advocating against free trade agreement negotiations that can threaten access to generic medicines. Loon’s international work follows the same lines. He is the coordinator of ITPC South Asia. From sending Indian generic medicines by post to hand carrying them for colleagues in other countries; challenging patents on medicines that may have generics in India but not in other countries to ensure that all PLHIV – Indian or not – have access to generic medicines, Loon’s work reflects his beliefs and principles of treatment access for all. In his personal life, Loon is a heavy metal and motorbike enthusiast. He lives in Delhi, India with his partner Rosalynn and their two children, Sol and Jojo.
- Alia Amimi, ITPC-MENA
Alia AMIMI, is the Coordinator of the MENA Regional Global Fund Platform since 2021. Holder of a Master degree in Governance, International Relations and Political Sciences from Science Po Grenoble, Mrs Amimi acquired a good knowledge of the response to the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics as well as the landscape and challenges of civil society in the MENA region during her experience at ITPC Mena as an advocacy officer for access to treatment and innovative medicines. Ms. Amimi’s first experience was a stint at the office of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Morocco where she worked on subjects related to the reduction of poverty, health and inequalities in Africa.
- Aibar Sultangaziev, Partner Network
Aibar is the head of the Association “Partner Network” and has been advocating for the availability of treatment since 2008. He was the initiator of the revision of the Patent Law in Kyrgyzstan, which was amended in 2015 to include many TRIPS flexibilities. Thanks to the work of the association, hepatitis C treatment is provided free of charge to all people living with HIV, and the prices for all ARV drugs are the lowest in the region.
- Do Dang Dong, Vietnam Network of People living with HIV (VNP+)
Dong Do Dang is the Chairperson of the Vietnam Network of People living with HIV (VNP+). He has been living with HIV since 1999 and started working on issues related to HIV in 2005.
- Mohammed El Said
Mohammed El Said is a legal consultant and Professor in International Trade and Intellectual Property Law at the School of Justice, the University of Central Lancashire (UK). He worked as a resource person with international organizations including the UNDP, WIPO, UNITAID and WHO in the field of IP policy, IP and development, public health and access to medicines. El Said has several books and publications in the area of intellectual property, public health and access to medicines. He is the author of WHO’s policy guide entitled ‘Public Health Related TRIPS-Plus Provisions in Bilateral Trade Agreements: A Policy Guide for Negotiations and Implementers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region’, WHO-ICTSD, 2010.
- Sanya Reid Smith, TWN (virtual)
Sanya is a legal advisor and senior researcher at Third World Network. She analyzes the implications of trade and investment agreements on: access to medicines, health and other laws and policies in developing and least developed countries. Third World Network is a grouping of organizations and individuals involved in development issues. Its international secretariat is in Malaysia and it has offices in various regions, including in Geneva where she works.
#MakeMedicinesAffordable #MedicineEqualityNow #GSIPA2M2022
