On 1 February 2018, we at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property held discussions on innovation, availability and affordability of medical products with a variety of selected stakeholders. The panelists had discussions on how innovation can address various types of diseases and on what is needed to make sure, innovation will not only be available but also affordable for patients. For more information, please go to our landing page.

The news service platform IP-Watch announced to publish a series of articles on ideas discussed at the event.:

• "Medicines Innovation and Access: Swiss Stimulate New Thinking". (06.02.2018)
• “Do We Need A Global Body To Set Priorities For Diseases And Research?" (14.02.2018)

This article not only discusses potential solutions regarding anti-microbial resistance and pandemic preparedness. It also highlights the role of the IPI as organiser of the event and mentions Albert Einstein as an IPI alumni.

Panellist Margaret Kyle – Ph.D MIT and economics professor at the Écoles des mines ParisTech - for instance said, we have much more information about a medical product at the time of the market launch than at the time of the patent application.

We wish you an enjoyable read.