Public Health

Scientific and technological innovation has contributed to significant advances in treating health conditions. The challenge for public health policymakers is to provide the necessary incentives for innovation in this area and to promote access to health innovation, particularly where its benefits are most urgently needed. WIPO’s Global Challenges program seeks to raise awareness and understanding of the interplay between innovation, technology transfer and diffusion, in particular the complexities underlying health innovation and access to medicines. How can the body of intellectual property (IP) be leveraged, particularly in relation to the private sector, to address the world’s most pressing health needs?

WIPO, in an unprecedented collaboration with leading pharmaceutical companies and BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), recently launched WIPO Re:Search, a new consortium where public and private sector organizations share valuable intellectual property (IP) and expertise with the global health research community to promote development of new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to treat neglected tropical diseases, malaria, and tuberculosis. WIPO is also strengthening its collaboration with the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization through a series of Trilateral Cooperation activities.