On 14 July, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the WTO launched the second update of the extract “Integrated health, trade and IP approach to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic”. This extract, from the second edition of the trilateral study “Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation”, maps the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the integrated health, trade and intellectual property policy framework set out in the study.

The second update traces developments up until 17 May 2023. It provides an overview of the challenges encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the responses and initiatives taken to deal with the pandemic. Topics covered include the impact of COVID-19 on health systems and responses at the global level, policy challenges, meeting the demand for health technologies and medical services, international trade, intellectual property aspects, international initiatives to support research and development and equitable access, regulatory responses, transparency and mapping the way forward.

The update responds to the agreement by the Directors General of WHO, WIPO and the WTO to intensify cooperation in support of global access to medical technologies to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.  At their meeting in June 2021, they agreed, among other things, to collect and make accessible robust and inclusive data needed for an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a periodic update of the extract.

The Trilateral Study is a result of almost 15 years of trilateral cooperation between the secretariats of WHO, WIPO and the WTO. It seeks to strengthen the understanding of the ever-evolving interplay between the distinct policy domains of health, trade and intellectual property and their effect on innovation and access to health technologies, such as medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and medical devices.

Report by the World Trade Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization & the World Health Organization