Legal Responses to the Global Health Crisis

Week 1: Problems (January 24)

• Lecture: The Global Health Crisis 
  • Part A: The Contours of the Crisis (33 minutes) (vimeo version) (mp4 version)
  • Part B: The Roles of Pharmaceutical Products (18 minutes) (vimeo version) (mp4 version)
• Readings:
  • United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, Final Report, pages 13-20
  • Owen Jarus, “The Worst Epidemics and Pandemics in History” (2022)

Week 2: Objectives (January 31)

• Readings:
  • United Nations: Sustainable Development Goal #3
  • Jennifer Prah Ruger, “Global Health Justice” (2009)

Week 3: Tools (February 7)

• Reading: Fisher & Syed, Rethinking Global Pharmaceutical Policy (draft 2023), chapter 2

Week 4: Improving Pharmaceutical Markets (February 14)

• Lecture: Improving Pharmaceutical Markets (58 minutes) (vimeo version) (mp4 version)
• Readings:
  • Vincent Ahonkhai et al., “Speeding Access to Vaccines and Medicines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Case for Change and a Framework for Optimized Product Market Authorization,” PLoS ONE 11, no. 11 (2016).
  • Fisher, Okediji & Gehl Sampath, “Fostering Production of Pharmaceutical Products in Developing Countries” (2021)

Week 5: Voluntary Licensing (February 21)

• Reading: Report of the Task Force on Voluntary Licensing and Access to Medicines (2023)
• Guest Speaker: Clifford Samuel, former Senior Vice President, Gilead Sciences [not confirmed]

Week 6: Reforming Intellectual Property (February 28)

• Lecture:
  • Adjusting Intellectual Property Law. Part A (52 minutes) (vimeo version) (mp4 version)
  • Adjusting Intellectual Property Law, Part B (25 minutes) (vimeo version) (mp4 version)
• Resources:
  • IFPMA, “Boosting Innovation and Access”
  • Fisher & Rigamonti, “The South Africa AIDS Controversy: A Case Study in Patent Law and Policy” (2005)
  • United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, Final Report, pages 21-32

Week 7: TRIPS and COVID (March 6)

• Interview with Martin Friede, Coordinator, Initiative for Vaccine Research, World Health Organization (45 minutes) (vimeo version)
• Reading: Council for TRIPS, “Paragraph 8 of the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement, Thematic Session,” October 23, 2023
• Negotiation Exercise

Week 8: Carrots (March 20)

• Readings:
  • Dean Baker, “Drugs are Cheap” (2017)
  • WIPO Report on Conditional Grants (2024)
  • Philip Stevens & Stephen Ezell, “Delinkage Debunked” (2020)

Week 9: Sticks (March 27)

• Reading: Fisher & Syed, Rethinking Global Pharmaceutical Policy (draft 2023), chapter 6

Week 10: The Special Case of Antibiotics (April 3)

• Reading: Aaron Kesselheim & Kevin Outterson, Improving Antibiotic Markets for Long-Term Sustainability (2011)

Week 11: How to Handle Traditional Knowledge (April 10)

• Reading: Fisher, “The Puzzle of Traditional Knowledge” (2018)
• Guest Speaker: Prof. Ruth Okediji

Week 12: Wrap Up (April 17)

• Lectures:
  • Coronavirus: The Big Questions (Bill Gates) (interview with Financial Times, 2019) (22 minutes)
  • Preparation for the Next Pandemic (Ashish Jha) (20 minutes) (Vimeo version) (mp4 version)

Guidelines for Class Discussions

Class Presentations

• January 31
• March 20