Skip to content
Geneva Health Files
Sign in Subscribe

EXCLUSIVE: Pharma Industry Throws its Hat in the Ring: Wants to be "Expert" to Inform Talks on Pathogen Access & Benefit Sharing, Sends Letter to IGWG; Some Countries Pushing to Keep Stakeholders Out

Newsletter Edition #136 [Treaty Talks]

By Priti Patnaik
EXCLUSIVE: Pharma Industry Throws its Hat in the Ring: Wants to be "Expert" to Inform Talks on Pathogen Access & Benefit Sharing, Sends Letter to IGWG; Some Countries Pushing to Keep Stakeholders Out
Published:
Share to X Share to Bluesky Share to Facebook Share to LinkedIn Share by email

Hi,

The optics do not look good. But it seems this is the Brave New World in global health.

In an exclusive story today, we have learned that the pharma industry is keen to be included as a designated expert to inform the negotiations on the Pathogen Access & Benefit Sharing discussions. (In this edition, find a graphic on all experts currently on the IGWG map.)

In parallel, few countries (both developed and developing ones) are not in favor of opening up the negotiations so that stakeholders including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) (and industry representatives) could witness some of the deliberations, walking back from a previously agreed commitment to do so. This will be decided on Monday, November 3.

I will also draw your attention to this: there are more than 130 organizations listed as relevant stakeholders, many of them CSOs, but also includes lobbyists who have some amount of access to the discussions. The press is not a part of this list.

This is important work (and tough!). If you find this valuable, and you are not a subscriber yet, do support our work so we keep doing this.

Support public interest global health journalism, become a paying subscriber. Tracking global health policy-making in Geneva is tough and expensive. Help us raise important questions, and in keeping an ear to the ground. makes this possible.

Gratitude to our subscribers who help us contribute to greater accountability in global health.

More later.

Best,

Priti

Feel free to write to us: genevahealthfiles@gmail.com; Find us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/genevahealthfiles.bsky.social

Illustration Credit: Amy Clarke, Chembe Collaborative

I. EXCLUSIVE

Pharma Industry Throws its Hat in the Ring: Wants to be “Expert” to Inform Talks on Pathogen Access & Benefit Sharing, Sends Letter to IGWG; Some Countries Pushing to Keep Stakeholders Out

Walking Back: IGWG To Reconsider Allowing Relevant Stakeholders To Witness Negotiations.

By Priti Patnaik
Julia Dötzer contributed to this story

The pharma industry is keen to inform the negotiations on the Pathogen Access & Benefit Sharing Mechanism as a designated expert. Countries had previously decided against doing so, to avoid conflicts of interest, since the industry is a stakeholder in the discussions.