Global Classrooms

1. Global Classrooms Topic and Country Assignments

2. Our Countries are… • Togo • Azerbaijan • Congo • Lebanon • El Salvador Source: http://www.google.es/imgres?imgurl=http://geology.com/world/world-map.gif&imgrefurl=http://geology.com/world/world-map.shtml&h=715&w=1200&sz=98&tbnid=WyeCmd4K74fpMM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=151&zoom=1&usg=__hKLt0UL3_I_m9lGzOEBIP_MoqIk=&docid=19EM_yJbKFXQIM&sa=X&ei=f1RxUvr7IMvH7AbK-4GADQ&ved=0CDcQ9QEwAQ

3. Where are they? Source: http://www.google.es/imgres?imgurl=http://geology.com/world/world-map.gif&imgrefurl=http://geology.com/world/world-map.shtml&h=715&w=1200&sz=98&tbnid=WyeCmd4K74fpMM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=151&zoom=1&usg=__hKLt0UL3_I_m9lGzOEBIP_MoqIk=&docid=19EM_yJbKFXQIM&sa=X&ei=f1RxUvr7IMvH7AbK-4GADQ&ved=0CDcQ9QEwAQ

4. Africa: Togo and Congo

5. Central America: El Salvador

6. The Middle East: Lebanon and Azerbaijan Source: http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/middleeast.html

7. The Groups are… • Togo: María, Lorena, Alberto • Azerbaijan: Andrea, Wisal, Adrián • Congo: Vivian, David, Jesus • **Let me clarify which Congo and I will let you know via email • Lebanon: Elisa, Adán, Irene • El Salvador: Alvaro, Manuela, Christian, Patricia

8. Our Conference Topic Is… • GENERIC DRUGS • UN Committee: World Health Organisation (WHO) Source: https://d3ojdig7p1k9j.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/generic-drugs.jpg

9. World Health Organisation • Agency of the UN that provides leadership on global health matters • Has 194 member nations • Provides support and information on issues like food safety, HIV/AIDS, maternal health and scientific research Source: http://www.puntlandi.net/?p=430

10. Generic Drugs • “A pharmaceutical product usually intended to be interchangeable with an innovative product that is manufactured without a license from the innovator company and marketed after the expiration date of the patent or other exclusive rights.”

11. Patents • “A title granted by public authorities that confers a temporary monopoly for the exploitation of an invention on the person who registers it, furnishes a sufficiently clear and full description of it and claims this monopoly.” • Forbids others from using the invention without the inventors’ permission • Drug patents are usually in effect for 17-20 years • After this period, other companies can produce and sell the drug without permission: AKA generic drugs • Same chemical formula as the expensive major brand but at a much cheaper price

12. How are Generic Drugs Made and Why are they so Cheap? • Major pharmaceutical companies put a lot of money into research and development of the drug and therefore charge a lot of money • Generic drug companies have the chemical formula already available to them (no R&D) and do not have to worry about the expensive and time-consuming regulatory testing. Thus they do not need to charge as much money to make money.

13. Why do we care? • Generic drugs are cheaper and therefore allow impoverished people to access drugs • 8 million people in low and middle-income countries currently receive drugs for HIV/AIDS which would not be possible without generic drugs

14. But then what is the problem? • Impoverished people need cheap generic drugs, but major pharmaceutical companies need to make money in order to research and develop drugs. • If they can’t make money  No drugs • No drugs  No treatment

15. The Road to Becoming a Drug • A need is determined • Research is done to find the best chemical formula (usually on the cell or protein level) • The drug is put through a series of regulatory tests assigned by the government for the safety of people • Cells  Animals  Human Trials (Clinical Trials) • If the drug passes all the tests it can then be patented • The drug can then be sold to consumers

16. On the Political Level • In 1994 the World Trade Organization protected big pharmaceutical companies via the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement • However, a country could override the patent protection by issuing a “compulsory license” when they were in the midst of an epidemic

17. On the Political Level • However, many countries began to abuse their compulsory licenses • Ex. Thailand in 2006 was not able to negotiate a cheap enough price with Pharm companies and issued a compulsory license for cancer drugs • Diseases like Cancer, Diabetes, and Heart Disease are known as non-communicable diseases as they are not passed from person to person. • Again, Big Pharma companies need the money to do research and development of new drugs

18. Current Situation • Generic Drug production is increasing • Research and Development costs are increasing • Big Pharma companies have introduced tiered pricing based on their clients income level • Helps low income countries but not middle income countries • Main problem surrounds HIV/AIDS drugs, whose patents are quickly expiring and which are expertly produced at low prices in countries like India

19. Further Problems • Many second line drugs (newer versions of the drug with less resistance or toxicity) are still under patents and impoverished countries must rely on older, less effective methods • While countries like the United States have put forth a lot of effort into making sure poor countries have access to HIV/AIDS drugs, they have also increased patent protection on non-communicable disease drugs. They argue that cancer and diabetes are less of an emergency than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB.

20. Source • Global Classrooms. “World Health Organization (WHO), Topic: Generic Drugs.” Global Classrooms 2013. Print.

21. So things to keep in mind: • Big pharma expenses versus profits • Need for cheap drugs versus need for expensive drugs that fund future research • Tiered pricing pros and cons

22. Country Presentations • NEXT THURSDAY • 10 MINUTES (and no more!) • Citations! • I WILL NOT ACCEPT LATE PRESENTATIONS! • Everyone must speak

23. Country Presentations • What you should include • Government (Government system, Head of State, Languages) • Economy (GDP, Economic System, Development classification, import/exports, natural resources) • People (Religions, growth rate, standard of living) • Military • UN Relations (Has the UN had to intervene in a country conflict?) • Relations with WHO and what you think is the country’s position on the generic drugs debate

24. Research Aids • WHO Website • UN Website • Allcountries.eu • Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)