New Drug Transparency Observatory Launched In France

Following the adoption of the World Health Assembly resolution on the transparency of medicines markets last month, a new civil society group has formed in France to monitor the French government’s implementation of the resolution.

L’Observatoire Transparence Médicaments (Drug Transparency Observatory), was launched today in a statement calling on the French government and all countries to implement not only the adopted resolution on the transparency of medicines markets, but also the transparency measures included in the initial resolution draft, which go beyond just medicines pricing.

The French government “showed its support to this initial text proposed for the resolution going further than prices, and we now want full transparency to be implemented in France,” said Pauline Londeix, Co-founder of the Observatory, in the statement.

“Besides monitoring the advancement on the implementation of the transparency resolution in pricing, clinical trials, research and development, marketing and patenting,” the statement said, “the Observatory will also monitor the position of France within the international institutions (WIPO, WTO, WHO, etc), as well as at the European level, in particular as part of the European Commission (EC) negotiating Free Trade agreements such as MERCOSUR, Tunisia and Morocco. These agreements currently in negotiation include, on the request of the EC, provisions such as data exclusivity and trade secrets, that go in the opposite direction to transparency.”

“Transparency is critical for countries like France to face the unstoppable increases in medicines prices and to sustain their health systems,” Londeix said.

The Observatory “will work hand in hand with local and international NGO partners,” according to the statement, and can be followed on Twitter at @OTMeds.

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