Publications

This paper has attempted to show, firstly, just how serious a threat substandard and counterfeited medicines are to public health and, secondly, to discuss how the regulations of the production, sale and use of medicines can have an impact on the availability of these dangerous drugs.

The paper began by examining the very nature of medical and pharmaceutical regulations: Why are they necessary? What are the concepts and ideas drug regulations are based on? And what are some of the essential best practices? It then moved on to examining how drug regulations have been designed in a number of countries (China, India, Brazil, Argentina and Turkey) which have experienced problems with substandard and counterfeited drugs.

This paper explores the issue of promoting biomedical innovation, particularly via national policy tools. Specifically, the paper analyses five categories of key components of biomedical innovation: human capital and infrastructure; R&D; protection of intellectual property; the regulatory and clinical environment; and market incentives for R&D. It also discusses policy measures taken by a range of countries including Singapore, Scotland, Ireland, Israel, Québec, Germany, France, Sweden, the UK and the US. Ultimately, it proposes a set of best practices that countries should aim for in order to sufficiently support and promote biomedical innovation.

The paper also examines various elements that may make national innovations strategies distinct from one another, including a country or region’s particular strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis different factors of biomedical innovation. It argues that despite distinct national environments for biomedical innovation, the best practices identified in the paper should serve to provide policymakers with a starting point for creating effective national strategies.

Teória a prax is the Slovak translation of the Stockholm Network publication Theory versus Practice.

Teória a prax was published by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/EURO) in Slovakia and presented at the 18th national conference on pharmacoeconomics, which is part of the Biannual Collaborative Agreement between the Ministry of Heath in Slovak Republic and WHO/EURO.

The Stockholm Network series on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) aims to highlight the gap between the theory and practice of HTA, as well comparing the extent to which the HTA process is applied by separate national agencies.

In this paper, the Stockholm Network explores the issue of governance of HTA systems. It finds that, while there seems to be a convergence among different countries towards the HTA appraisal and review process, there are still considerable differences in the manner in which national HTA system operate as a whole. Such differences, it is argued, ultimately lead to different outcomes and outputs of national HTA systems, not least in the context of patients` ability to access new and innovative healthcare technologies.

This thirteenth edition of Climate of Opinion is dedicated to the UN Climate Change Conference. It looks at the wider issue of climate change and the specific challenges facing a number of key countries and regional blocs. It contains the following articles:

• Commentary: Achieving the Unachievable? Getting a global deal in Copenhagen – Helen Disney and Meir Pugatch
  
• The United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Context – Henry Beardsell
  
• Understanding the US position – David Torstensson
  
• The EU27 and Copenhagen – Adrienne Cernigoi
  
• China’s role – Paul Healy
  
• Show us the money! India, Brazil and the developing world – Rachel Chu
  
• Microclimates – Top stories in energy and environment
  

In this autumn issue of Eye on Europe, we look at a range of topics including a thought-provoking article on the rise of health savings accounts, by Jacob Arfwedson and Thomas Idergard of Swedish member think tank Timbro. A new book by Johnny Munkhammar and Stefan Fölster, entitled Yes, Europe Can!, is also reviewed and there is a preview of a forthcoming Stockholm Network paper on national innovation strategies. In addition, four of our member think tanks are profiled from Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.

This latest paper in the Stockholm Network series on patient safety explores the issue of biosimilars and their impact on healthcare policymaking. It examines the various challenges that the advent of biosimilars raises, particularly with regard to the regulatory framework, market opportunities, IPRs and most importantly of all, with regard to public safety. The paper also takes four of the most relevant pathways as case studies, namely the EU, WHO, Canada and the US (where legislation is still under way), and evaluates in particular whether these pathways have resolved the safety and IP dilemmas. Finally, it presents several policy recommendations, which should allow more clarity and predictability for those wishing to enter the market as well as provide enhanced scientific rigour, in the interests of patients.

This is a German translation of the Stockholm Network publication Theory versus Practice.

The Stockholm Network series on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) aims to highlight the gap between the theory and practice of HTA, as well comparing the extent to which the HTA process is applied by separate national agencies.

In this paper, the Stockholm Network explores the issue of governance of HTA systems. It finds that, while there seems to be a convergence among different countries towards the HTA appraisal and review process, there are still considerable differences in the manner in which national HTA system operate as a whole. Such differences, it is argued, ultimately lead to different outcomes and outputs of national HTA systems, not least in the context of patients` ability to access new and innovative healthcare technologies.

This paper examines in detail the state of the European pharmaceutical market as a whole and asks what impact European regulatory structures are having on patients’ ability to access medicines promptly. Is there a gap between the theory and practice regarding when patients in different EU member states can get hold of the medicines they need and, if so, what can be done to speed up the process?

In this summer issue of Eye on Europe, we dedicate the leading article and a special section to two important and highly topical issues: the financial crisis and the question of whether the free market still has a role. In the special section we review five commercial books published in the UK and feature five publications of member think tanks all of which are concerned with these issues.

The newsletter also analyses the state of the Lithuanian healthcare system and dedicates a section to the presence of the Stockholm Network in the blogosphere. We are also pleased to announce that we have recently added several new member think tanks to our network, including Competitive Malta, The OHRID Institute for Economic Strategies and International Affairs in Macedonia and The Romanian Center for European Policies, all of whom are profiled in this issue.

This edition of Know IP contains the following articles:

• Commentary – Protecting IPRs as a strategic choice for Europe – Dr Meir Pugatch and Helen Disney
  
• Topic of the Month – Barbie goes to war – the billion dollar IP dispute between Barbie and Bratz – Rachel Chu
  
• Experts’ Corner – Patents and energy – generating results or generating controversy? – Dr Konstantinos Karachalios
  
• Views – Beyond Pirate Bay – Rachel Chu
  
• New Research by the Stockholm Network – The Intellectual Property Index for the Information Technology Sector, Updated for 2008-2009
  
• New Publication – The Process of Intellectual Property Policy-Making in the 21st Century – Shifting from a General Welfare Model to a Multi-Dimensional One – by Dr Meir Pugatch
  
• Newsflashes – Top stories in the world of IP and Competition