Sign the petition for ARVs and HIV treatment in Nepal

Please sign on in solidarity with Nepalese activists who are facing shortages of ARVs. Some people currently being treated for HIV may be cut off from their medicines if action is not taken. Because the Nepali government offices will be on closed for a week to celebrate a national holiday, Ethan and I have been constantly in touch with Nepali activists for the past two days to get this done as soon quickly as possible. PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION ASAP. To sign on please go here: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/np2011/petition.html

Vaccines for children to reach 37 more countries!

Vaccines for rotavirus and pneumococcal disease announced today to be provided in more countries in Africa! This as a part of a movement done by GAVI Alliance, whose CEO stated: “Thanks to our donors and partners, the GAVI Alliance is now delivering on its promise to protect more children across the developing world against rotavirus, pneumococcal disease and other life-threatening yet preventable diseases,” said GAVI CEO Seth Berkley M.D. This is exciting news in the world of Global Access! Way to Go GAVI Alliance for your success in implementing these vaccines. This is following success in distribution of these vaccines in Sudan. By 2015, GAVI is planning on distributing to more than 40 countries, and providing vaccine for more than 50 million children. What a great success! For more: check out this article: Click Me! -Justin

UAEM having another meeting

Tomorrow, Tuesday September 27, UAEM at CMU is having another general meeting. They are charging $15 for yearly dues to anyone interested in going to the national UAEM conference featuring Dr. Stephen Lewis on October 28-30 at Baltimore, MD. This is a tremendous time to learn about the access to medicines issue and to support and get involved directly. Also, there are executive board positions up for grabs tomorrow, these being the International UAEM liaison, and the Public relations chairperson. These positions need to be filled for this year, and are a great opportunity for people to get involved with the fight as well. Hope to see people there. -Justin

Interested in Global Health, why not read an amazing book?

There are many awesome topics out there to read books about, ranging from sparkling vampires and wizards to military novels and even autobiographies of greats like Albert Einstein. Amidst all the options for a great book to read, there are a selection of books made for people like us, who are interested in global health and issues like access to medicines and medical technologies, today, I've decided to start a list of these books for anyone who is looking to read something of that nature. Here's what we have so far, thanks to one of our members. Please comment if you have any more suggestions to add to the list, as the more we can share, the more we can know and do. The list: Mountains beyond mountains- Tracy Kidder (about Dr. Paul Farmer) Better- Atul Gawande Complications- Atul Gawande End of Poverty- Jeffrey Sachs Race against Time- Stephen Lewis My Own Country- Abraham Verghese I plan on starting with Mountains Beyond Mountains personally... -Justin

PIH Web Symposium

Today at 3pm, join in on the PIH Web Symposium: the 18th Annual Thomas J. White Symposium: From Innovation to Transformation: Partnerships in Action. Join in online for free at: http://www.pih.org/symposium If your on campus, join us at Anspach 151 to watch it together!!! Update: Click the link above to watch the video still, it is on the site, hosted by PIH and Livestream! It was a very cool way to hear from people working in the field through Partners in Health, and to hear from Dr. Paul Farmer!

Pro Bono Bio, the Tom's Shoes of Pharmaceuticals

Today we are hearing about an exciting new pharmaceutical company called Pro Bono Bio. This is from they're website: www.probonobio.com: Pro Bono Bio is at the forefront of the "humanitarian" pharmaceutical industry. It is the first pharmaceutical company to have clear and specific humanitarian objectives from the start. Pro Bono Bio’s business model provides for the provision of drug donations to Africa based on the sales of its products in the pharmaceutical markets of Western Europe. So for every sale in Western Europe at normal prices, Pro Bono Bio will provide the same product, manufactured to the same international standards, to be distributed to Africa. Pro Bono Bio’s shareholders are fully supportive of this unique business model which will apply to all of the company’s products. The area of Africa that Pro Bono Bio will initially supply is the East African Community (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda), which has a population of 130 million. As a self proclaimed humanitarian pharmaceutical industry, this company is making waves, and really producing a great new model for access! Hopefully the wave is contagious in the future, but for now this awesome group is bringing in an enlightened era of pharmaceuticals. More available at the Burrill Report This info forwarded on from the UAEM-CC Thanks guys! -Justin

CMU UAEM General Meeting

A Message from CMU UAEM:

Hello Everyone! Universities Allied for Essential Medicines at CMU is having its first full general meeting for 2011-2012! In Anspach 151 on Tuesday, August 13 (this Tuesday) at 8pm!!!! This is the first of many general meetings to be held every other Tuesday at 8pm this semester. We will be talking about the National Conference, dues, and our new status system. Dues this year are $15 for the entire year. Come to the meeting, and bring a friend! We'll see you there! UAEM-CMU Team cmich.uaem@gmail.com Justin Mendoza President, UAEM-CMU mendo1jd@cmich.edu

‎"Everyone knows the more prescription drugs cost, the better they work!" Not so fast! When it comes to generic medicine it's cheaper and just as efficient as the prescription drug....so that means likelier access for many more people!

~Priscilla

Novartis Hits the Heart of the Access Problem

As one wonderful example of the problem of equal access, and how exactly patents play a role, this article could not play a better role. Novartis, the company which holds the patent on the Leukemia drug Glivec, is currently in a Supreme Court battle over renewing a patent on Glivec in India after making a slight change to the drug. Indian patent law states that no patent held before 1995 (when India was forced into recognizing patents) are considered valid. Glivec was originally patented in 1993, which left Indian generic companies to provide the drug for $174 a month. The "brand name" price is over ten times that amount! Renewing the patent would put a halt on the generic production on Glivec in India. Luckily, the renewal of a patent in India is only acceptable if there has been a hugely significant therapeutic change in the newest patented version of the drug, so its not like they could just walk in and open a new patent. All we can do is hope that their case does not go through, or else access to this much needed product will be restricted in mass proportions. Take a look at this article for more information: Click Here

Hopefully the patients' rights groups in India will make a strong enough case to keep Glivec in the hands of the people who need it, not just those who can afford it.

-Justin