Promoting access to medical technologies and innovation

"Public health is a global challenge, and therefore international co-operation has a high priority. The World Health Organization (WHO) is the global authority for health. But a range of other issues are involved in achieving health objectives, requiring WHO to join forces with counterparts. Two of these are the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and World Trade Organization (WTO). This book is the first ever joint study by the three, part of their collaboration on health, intellectual property, and trade. The book's focus is on advancing medical and health technologies ("innovation") and ensuring they reach the people who need them ("accessibility"). A huge amount of analytical and factual material is available on access to medicines and other medical technologies, and on innovation. Here, it is brought together in one concise volume. The book is designed to support governments and others -- particularly in developing countries -- who face an increasing demand to act, when governments want to increase access to effective treatments while containing costs. The underlying theme is: policies on these issues have to be viewed together in order to make real progress."--Publisher's description.