OUR WORK

WE TOOK OUR CLINICAL TRIAL REPORT TO HOSPITALS AND UNIVERSITIES

In January 2021, our report on clinical trials presented in December 2020 was moved or presented to different research centres, hospitals and clinical trial units to underscore the need for greater compliance in exercises of transparency and accountability.

LETTER TO THE NEW DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WTO: NO TO THE ‘THIRD WAY’

In April, a ‘third way’, alternative to the Waiver, which consisted of promoting bilateral agreements between companies which marketed the vaccines —patent holders— and other companies which had the manufacturing capacity, through the voluntary licence formula. Following this proposal 240 organisations worldwide sent a letter to the new director-general of the WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to demonstrate our concern for this new development which meant the control of vaccine supply remained in the hands of industrial pharmaceutical companies.

WE CONDEMN THE EUROPEAN UNION’S BLOCK ON THE CONSENSUS ON THE TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF PATENTS

Before the WTO meetings in June, the EU submitted a new text to the WTO which contained clearly insufficient measures to increase vaccine production and distribution and demonstrated a strong European position to prevent consensus and hinder the negotiation of the final text on the initiative of India and South Africa.

WE PARTICIPATED IN ACT-A AND C-TAP

Over the year, at Salud por Derecho we took part in open consultation processes to add our recommendations in ACT-A and C-TAP and other pandemic governance mechanisms, with the aim of improving access to Covid-19 tools.

POSITION ON HERA

In September 2021 European Commission (EC) published their proposal for HERA (Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority), a tool to generate knowledge and tools to ensure a smoother response to tackle possible future pandemics. At Salud por Derecho we wanted to participate and highlight the elements which HERA should include.

WE ASKED PEDRO SÁNCHEZ TO PRESSURE THE EU TO CHANGE ITS POSITION ON THE SUSPENSION OF PATENTS

Through a letter, Salud por Derecho, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam Intermón, and Amnesty International asked Pedro Sánchez, who had previously shown his support for the suspension of patents, to take a stand at the European Summit which was held in October.

WE ORGANIZED THE ONLINE EVENT ‘C-TAP: A MODEL FOR EQUAL AND GLOBAL INNOVATION TO TACKLE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC’

To understand the milestone of the agreement between the CSIC and the MPP, at Salud por Derecho we organised an event so the heads of all these institutions and the Spanish government could relate what happened and understand the importance of this occurrence, not only for the fight against Covid-19, but also for the development of new R&D models in health which remove barriers to access healthcare technologies.

WE ASKED THE GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT THE SUSPENSION OF COVID-19 AND C-TAP PATENTS

In February, Salud por Derecho and MSF asked the Spanish government to support the proposal of South Africa and India and C-TAP, the WTO initiative to voluntarily share scientific knowledge developed against COVID-19. Until now, Spain had not shown its backing for either of the two, despite the fact that some government documents and strategies spoke of the vaccine as a public property, as well as the need to share intellectual property to tackle the pandemic globally and guarantee equal access.

OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNMENT

In February, 12 national organisations sent a letter to the Government to request measures related to COVID-19 vaccine access in the interest of public health.

WE ASK PEDRO SÁNCHEZ TO SUPPORT THE SUSPENSION OF PATENTS FOR COVID-19

In April, more than 80 Spanish organisations asked the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez to support the liberalisation of patents for vaccines against Covid-19 to achieve a vaccine accessible to all people, regardless of where they live.

WE ASKED THE EU TO FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE US AND STOP BLOCKING THE SUSPENSION OF PATENTS.

After the commitment of the Biden administration to support the temporary suspension of patents for vaccines, medicines and diagnostics to combat COVID-19, we asked the EU to change its position and stop blocking the initiative.

WE ASKED THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO COMPLY WITH THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S REQUEST TO SUPPORT THE TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF PATENTS

Ahead of the TRIPS Council meeting at the WTO, and in a letter to the European Commission, 200 international organisations warned that Europe's proposal cannot be considered as an alternative to the patent exemption proposed by India and South Africa to end the lack of access to vaccines and urged them to reconsider their position and listen to the will of the European Parliament.

WE REMINDED GOVERNMENTS AT THE VACCINE SUMMIT THAT THERE IS NO TIME FOR “EMPTY PROMISES”

On the eve of the Global Covid-19 Summit hosted by the President of the United States on the margins of the UN General Assembly, 75 organisations from the People's Vaccine Alliance urge world leaders to move beyond empty promises and take decisive action to increase the manufacture of and access to Covid-19 vaccines worldwide.

OUR CONCERNS ABOUT HERA: LETTER AND RECCOMMENDATIONS 

After the presentation of HERA, different organisations from the European Alliance for Responsible R&D and Affordable Medicines came together to study and debate the proposal. Following this exercise, we sent a letter to the European Commission to welcome the initiative and raise our concerns.

ONE YEAR OF THE PANDEMIC

In March, one year after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, we reported as part of the People’s Vaccines that developing countries were continuing to face a critical lack of medical supplies and oxygen, and the majority were not able to administer even a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

WE ASKED THE EU TO STOP BLOCKING THE SUSPENSION OF PATENTS FOR COVID-19

170 Nobel prize winners and former presidents and 388 members of the European and national parliament gave their support to the suspension of patents. In this context, and in face of the WTO meeting in April, 34 international organisations asked the EU to stop blocking an initiative which would allow millions of lives to be saved worldwide. 

Organizamos el Seminario online: ‘La Covid 19 en África Subsahariana: acceso a la vacuna y su impacto en otros problemas de salud’

In June, with the support of Anesvad, we organised ‘Covid 19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: vaccine access and its impact on other health issues’, in which speakers from Doctors Without Borders, Anesvad, the ISCIII and Salud por Derecho participated and which was coordinated by the journalist Chema Bruscas.

TALKS AT UNIVERSITIES

Over the year, although virtually, we were able to participate in different talks organised by different university centres. In May, we were invited to form part of a panel at the Universidad de Avellanda (Argentina), in which, alongside experts in intellectual property of the country we spoke on Intellectual Property and Vaccines in the context of Covid-19. We were subsequently speakers at the Universidad de Rioja’s summer course, and spoke on vaccine and medicine access.

LETTER TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY IN CLINICAL TRIALS

In September, 27 organisations from the European Alliance for Responsible R&D and Affordable Medicines sent a letter to the European Commission to urge them to guarantee that the new regulations would improve the transparency of clinical trials and protect their good governance.

LETTER TO G7 REQUESTING A CHANGE IN THE RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The organisations of the People’s Vaccine, within the framework of the UN General Assembly and the Vaccine Summit urge G7 leaders to use this time to take immediate and decisive action to control the virus worldwide.

WE CELEBRATED THE NEWS: THROUGH C-TAP SPAIN WILL SHARE ITS COVID-19 DIAGNOSTIC TEST TECHNOLOGY

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Medicines Patents Pool (MPP) announced the signing of a licencing agreement  for serological antibody tests developed by the CSIC, called ELISA. It was the first country to reach an agreement of this type. Salud por Derecho were invited to the presentation event for the agreement.

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS

Throughout the year we have participated in different international networks for planning actions, campaigns, letter, recommendations, etc... As well as continuing our work as a member of the People’s Vaccine, we were part of the Global Covid19 Action group along with all of civil international society, coordinated by Public Citizen. Similarly, we have continued our work within the European Alliance for Access to Medicine and have worked in the Group of Activists and Civil Society for access to medicine in Europe. We have also collaborated in joint and bilateral actions with national and international organisations such as Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, UNICEF, Political Watch, and many more.

WE REVEALED THE ENORMOUS PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN COVID-19 VACCINES AND CONDEMN THEIR RELINQUISHMENT TO PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES

In the report “The vaccine: a global public good to tackle a pandemic” we analyse the main vaccines that are available globally, their origins, their funding, aspects related to their intellectual property, purchase agreements, and their different prices.

WE ANALYSED THE ORIGIN OF THE UPWARD TREND IN PHAMACEUTICAL PRICES

In December we published the new report “The high prices of  medicines in Spain: Analysis of pharmaceutical products approved during the pandemic”, in which the causes and consequences of the unstoppable rise in medicine prices, especially in those which are new and treat the most serious diseases.

WE SENT A LETTER TO THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE PACT FOR SCIENCE

In April, while Congress was studying the bases of the Pact for Science and Innovation - presented several months prior-, from Its Not Healthy we sent a letter to the members of the subcommittee, with a series of recommendations and specific measures so science and the results of innovation become a public interest.

WE GIVE A TALK AT THE UMH

In May we organised a talk at the Universidad Miguel Hernandez on access to medicines, vaccines, diagnoses and domestic pharmaceutical policy, its function, the impact of pharmaceutical policy on the fight against the pandemic, etc.

LETTER TO THE GOVERNEMENT TO PROTECT CANCER TREATMENTS DEVELOPED IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS

With the success of the CAR-T treatments in the fight against cancer and the successful development of one of them in the hospital Clinic de Barcelona, we sent a letter to the Government to ask them to invest in these treatments which are being managed within the Public Health Service itself, and prevent them from being transferred to  the private sector.
WE ARE A NON-PROFIT FOUNDATION THAT DEFENDS HUMAN RIGHTS SO THAT ALL PEOPLE, WHEREVER THEY LIVE, CAN EXERCISE THEIR RIGHT TO HEALTH.