OSI Supports University Course in Ukraine on Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines

On September 14-18, the Open Society Institute, along with the American University Washington College of Law and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, held a training on intellectual property and access to medicines for public health advocates in Kyiv, Ukraine. The training instructed advocates from Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States on how intellectual property flexibilities can be used to promote access to affordable generic medicines.

The training included presentations from legal academics and activists from Ukraine and the United States: Sean Flynn (American University), Brook Baker (Northeastern Univeristy), Yulia Gordonna (Mohyla University), Peter Maybarduk (Essential Action), Anastasia Mindrul (Mohyla University), Zoriana Skaletska (Mohyla University), and Raminta Stuikyte (Eurasian Harm Reduction Network).

On September 18, participants from the training released a statement calling on governments and international organizations to increase access to a generic drug (pegylated interferon) to treat Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C affects between 150 and 200 million people worldwide, and countries in the Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States have been especially hard hit.

For more information, including a copy of the statement and the course syllabus, see the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property website.