Philadelphia Consensus Statement

Join luminaries in science, medicine, law, and health policy. Call on 
universities to make the fruits of their research available in the 
developing world.

The Philadelphia Consensus Statement proposes three major changes to 
university policies on health-related innovations. Universities should:

Promote equal access to research.
Promote research and development for neglected diseases.
Measure research success according to impact on human welfare.

These changes could literally save millions of lives.

EQUAL ACCESS

Universities are key developers of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics. 
They can leverage their intellectual property on these innovations to 
ensure low-cost access in the developing world.

Mechanisms proposed to ensure access include: granting rights to 
generic companies to manufacture and export university innovations to 
developing countries, price reductions, non-patenting requirements in 
low- and middle-income countries, and participation in patent pools.

RESEARCH FOR NEGLECTED DISEASES

Neglected diseases are those for which treatment options are 
inadequate or do not exist and for which drug-market potential is 
insufficient to attract a private-sector response.

Universities can adopt policies that remove barriers to neglected 
diseases R&D. Proposed policy changes include: engaging with 
nontraditional partners, such as public-private partnerships or 
developing country institutions, creating new opportunities for drug 
development, and carving out neglected disease research exemptions in 
any university patents or licenses.

MEASURING RESEARCH SUCCESS BY IMPACT ON HUMAN WELFARE

University technology transfer operations are usually evaluated using 
simple, quantifiable criteria such as patents applied for and 
received, licenses granted, and licensing revenue generated. 
Therefore, the positive social impact of university 
innovations--particularly in poor countries--goes largely unnoticed.

Universities can rectify this situation by collecting and making 
public statistics on university intellectual property practices 
related to global health access and collaborating to develop new 
technology transfer metrics to better gauge access to public health 
goods and innovation in neglected-disease research.

Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM; 
www.essentialmedicine.org) adopted the Philadelphia Consensus 
Statement at their annual conference held in Philadelphia at the 
beginning of October, 2006.

You are invited to join the initial signatories and endorse the 
Philadelphia Consensus Statement.

http://consensus.essentialmedicine.org/

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