Developing countries call on WHO to focus on public health issues not drug patents; Swine flu experts "conflict of interest"

Developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America - spearheaded by India and Brazil - have secured passage of a resolution that calls for a major review of the World Health Organization's role in combating counterfeit and substandard drugs. The demands seek to curtail the role of the WHO in intellectual property enforcement issues and to prioritize public health concerns.

According to an article on the British Medical Journal's web site, the resolution calls for WHO Director General Margaret Chan to establish a working group to examine from a "public health perspective, excluding intellectual property considerations," the agency's role "in measures to ensure the availability of quality, safe, efficacious and affordable medical products."

It also calls for an examination of the WHO's relationship with the International Medical Products Anti-counterfeiting Taskforce, which includes the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, and international agencies such as the World Customs Organization, Interpol, the World Trade Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, among others.

WHO swine flu experts 'linked' with drug companies