Today, Kayla Gu, MS1 at UCLA spoke to the University of California Board of Regents on behalf of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT). She urged UCLA to drop the patent claim in India on enzalutamide (Xtandi) that would bar affordable access to a lifesaving prostate cancer drug. Kayla knows the story of Xtandi quite well: she presented on the topic at Los Angeles Global Health Conference 2018: Looking In, Looking Out: Balancing Global and Local Priorities in the Current Political Climate on February 3, 2018 and in the following blog: The StoryRead More →

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 →