United Nations

UK pays less than European neighbours for cancer drugs

The price of originator cancer drugs varies widely between high-income countries and the UK pays one of the lowest prices in Europe.…

People taking HIV drugs rises to almost 16 million, UNAIDs reports

The number of people receiving HIV treatment reached 15.8 million in June 2015, an increase of 2.2 million on the previous year, says a new report by UNAIDS.…

Stigma towards people with HIV will undo advances in drug treatment

Societal attitudes towards HIV need to keep up with the advances in drug development and treatment for the illness.…

Q&A: WHO’s Keiji Fukuda discusses global plans for antibiotic resistance

Keiji Fukuda, special representative of the World Health Organization director general for antimicrobial resistance, discusses the big threat to global health posed by the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance.…

World’s poorest countries don’t need to protect drug patents until 2033, agrees WTO

The world’s poorest countries have been given an extension of 17 years to a waiver exempting them from implementing rules protecting drug patents and undisclosed clinical test data, the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed on 6 November 2015.…

Serious gaps remain in treatment of multidrug-resistant TB, says WHO report

Progress has been made in the global fight against tuberculosis but serious gaps remain in the detection and treatment of the disease, says a World Health Organization report.…

Heart drugs are not reaching patients in low income nations

Medicines used to prevent cardiovascular disease are unavailable and unaffordable for the majority of patients living in low income countries, according to research published in The Lancet.…

Janssen provides free courses of anti-TB drug bedaquiline

Georgia has become the first country to receive free courses of the anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline (Sirturo) through an innovative drug donation partnership between USAID and Janssen Therapeutics.…

Antibiotic resistance threatens surgical procedures and chemotherapy, study warns

Around 120,000 additional infections and 6,300 deaths in the United States each year could occur as a result of a 30% reduction in the efficacy of prophylactic use of antibiotics.…

Pharmacist numbers increase globally, report finds

The number of pharmacists per head of population has increased in many countries around the world but there remains a shortage in low-income and middle-income nations, according to an analysis. …