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Articles on Access to medicines

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Indian health workers doing health checks in Mumbai, June 17, 2020. AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File

Ending the pandemic will take global access to COVID-19 treatment and vaccines – which means putting ethics before profits

The high cost of pharmaceuticals often means only the richest patients get lifesaving medicines. As coronavirus drugs emerge, it will require hard, creative work to ensure they’re available to all.
Globally, billions of dollars in public funds have been committed for COVID-19 vaccine development. It’s crucial that the resulting vaccine be accessible to all. (Shutterstock)

Coronavirus vaccine must be affordable and accessible

Canada is investing millions to develop COVID-19 treatments, but there are no safeguards to ensure that those vaccines and medications will be affordable and accessible to the people who need them.
Trade minister Andrew Robb attends negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership in Sydney last year. Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image

How the battle over biologics helped stall the Trans Pacific Partnership

Over the next few weeks, the trade minister will be under intense pressure to renege on the government’s commitment to reject anything in the Trans Pacific Partnership that could undermine the PBS.
The proposed Australian price for Sovaldi has not been disclosed, but in the United States a three-month course of treatment costs US$84,000. Stuart Hamilton/Flickr

What price a life? Hepatitis C drug out of reach for millions

It’s twice as common as type 1 diabetes. It kills more Australians than HIV. One in every 100 of us lives with hepatitis C, but the disease receives little attention. Worldwide, around 150 million people…
The intellectual property changes proposed by the United States won’t benefit poor countries party to the agreement. Virginia Guard Public Affairs/Flickr

US concessions don’t give Trans Pacific partners access to drugs

In the next few days, 12 Pacific Rim countries will make critical decisions about what is potentially the most damaging trade agreement for public health ever signed. The Trans Pacific Partnership agreement…

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