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On March 12, 2018, UACT joined 15 other organizations in the United States and Korea in a letter to the United States Trade Representative, urging the administration to ignore the wishes of pharmaceutical lobbyists and to not interfere with patient access to medicines in Korea. Recently, Korea has passed legislation aimed at lowering drug prices and increasing the government’s negotiating power. Pharmaceutical corporations have taken notice, and through the industry lobbyist group PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America), have pressured the U.S. government to retaliate against the country in trade negotiations. In its submission to the USTR’s yearly “Special 301” review of intellectual property protection in otherRead More →

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On March 9, 2018, the Chile Ministry of Health issued two documents outlining its decision to recommend a compulsory license on hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug patents. The hepatitis C virus can lead to cancer of the liver and other serious and life threatening health issues. The new drugs to treat HCV are effective for many patients, but in many countries are so expensive that access is limited. When patent barriers are overcome, affordable generic versions of the drugs are available, and treatment access is dramatically improved. Dr. Gilberto Lopes, a member of UACT and also of the UACT Expert Advisory Board offered this statementRead More →

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On Thursday March 8, 2018, the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment delivered the following testimony at the hearing for the 2018 Special 301 list.  The testimony was delivered by Dr. Manon Ress. To see previous UACT written submissions and testimonies to the Special 301 review process, please visit our page on our work concerning the Office of the US Trade Representative. Prepared statement of UACT (PDF), for March 8, 2018 hearing on the USTR Special 301 list Docket No. USTR-2017-0024 My name is Manon Ress. I am speaking today on behalf of the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment, which filed comments in this docket onRead More →

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UACT has submitted comments to the United States Trade Representative regarding the 2018 Special 301 Review. UACT’s comments can be found as a pdf here and copied in full below:   1621 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 Tel.: 202.332.2670 www.uact.org February 6, 2018 Sung Chang Director for Innovation and Intellectual Property United States Trade Representative Docket No. USTR-2017-0024 Via submissions made through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Dear Sung Chang, Re: UACT Comments Regarding the 2018 Special 301 Review The Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT), created in 2014, is a union of people affected by cancer, their family members and friends,Read More →

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On February 6, 2018, UACT and 43 other organizations sent a letter to leaders in Congress, urging them to increase patients access to generic drugs by passing the CREATES Act. When the FDA registers a brand name drug, it sometimes requires the manufacturer to submit a risk management strategy (called REMS), containing a plan for how the drug will be managed in order to ensure that the benefits to patients outweigh the potential risks of side effects or adverse outcomes. These protocols can include restrictions on how and to whom the drugs can be distributed, for example saying that a drug can only be dispensedRead More →