The Quest for Essential Medicine Access

Final Draft

STUDENT SENATE BILL 2006-XXXX

TITLE: A Bill Recognizing the University of Florida's Research and its Role in Global Access to Essential Medicines

AUTHORS: Ashley Wills, Gloria Tavera, Devina Patel, Michael Day

SPONSORS: Senator Gavin Baker, Senator Fei Long

WHEREAS, the University of Florida is recognized as a major research university, having received nearly $500 million in funding for sponsored research in FY 2004-05, and excels in medical research, resulting in many important medical inventions; and

WHEREAS, university scientists are major contributors in drug development, conducting more than half of the United States' basic research, and are responsible for the development of important health technologies; and

WHEREAS, students play an important role in the research process of medical developments at the University of Florida; and

WHEREAS, the Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act of 1980 enabled universities to retain title to the intellectual property of inventions resulting from research, and tasked universities to use patent protection to “effectuate the transfer of government funded inventions to the public”; and

WHEREAS, the University of Florida engages in exclusive licensing of its patents, which prevents generic competition for medicines for the duration of the patent; and

WHEREAS, generic competition is a means to achieve lower prices for patented medicines which typically correlates with greater access for individuals in lower- and middle-income countries; and

WHEREAS, according to the World Health Organization, over 50% of the poor in Africa and Asia lack regular access to essential medicines; and

WHEREAS, the University can include provisions in its patent licenses that would allow essential medicines to be produced and sold as generics in lower- and middle-incomecountries; and

WHEREAS, the University of Florida’s mission outlines the “university’s commitment to lead and serve the State of Florida, the nation, and the world by pursuing and disseminating new knowledge,” and that “the University of Florida aspires to advance by strengthening the human condition and improving the quality of life”;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the students of the University of Florida recognize the University’s importance in promoting greater access to essential medicines and health technologies in lower- and middle-income countries; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the students of the University of Florida affirm the importance of university licensing to improve the quality of life globally and urge the University of Florida administration to incorporate this goal into current practices.

Draft 1

WHEREAS, an unacceptable number of the global poor who need essential medicines lack access to them; and

WHEREAS, university scientists are major contributors in the drug development pipeline, conducting more than half of the United States' basic research and are responsible for important health technologies; and

WHEREAS, universities have the power to help make medicines and health technologies more accessible for the world's poor through their licensing policies; and

WHEREAS, universities have an avowed commitment to advancing the public good; and

WHEREAS, a decrease in the price of medicines typically correlates with greater access (for individuals) in lower and middle income countries, and that generic competition is a means to achieve low prices for patented medicines: and

WHEREAS, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) is a student advocacy group with chapters at over thirty major research universities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. UAEM has been campaigning for universities to acknowledge their role in global public health, and to improve access to health goods in developing countries by changing their technology licensing policies;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the ___________ of the University of Florida recognizes the university's importance in promoting greater access to biomedical end products in low- and middle- income countries and increasing research conducted on neglected diseases.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the ___________ of the University of Florida endorses UAEM's statement that “improving human welfare, including globally, is the most important goal of university technology transfer” and urges the University of Florida administration to incorporate it into current licensing practices.

See also Gavin's site