Archive for May, 2007
US Supreme Court Ruling on Patents has International Implications
The Economist reported earlier this month (Patently Obvious - May 5th issue), that the US Supreme Court had raised the bar on what deserves a patent, and qualifies as “non-obvious”. In a patent dispute ruling it stated that, “granting patent protection to advances that would occur in the ordinary course without real innovation retards progress.”
The [...]
Health Update: IFC Healthcare Fund, Clinton HIV drugs, Gates Foundation Strategy
Oodles of news on global public health.
1. The FT carries an article on IFC’s plans to create an Africa healthcare fund of about $500 million. According to the report, the agency has been funding work, in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, to develop an equity, debt and technical assistance fund to finance commercial healthcare projects. [...]
Brazil breaks patent on Merck’s AIDS drug
On Friday May 4, Brazil decided to break off negotiations with Merck on the pricing of its AIDS drug Efavirenz, instead issuing a compulsory license to import the drug from India (reported on BBC, Reuters, WSJ Health Blog). Brazil was presently paying $1.6 per pill, and had offered a reduced price of $1.10. Brazil, however, [...]
The Economist on Education Vouchers
The Economist is carrying a piece on the success of education vouchers. Sweeping aside criticism from the “education establishment”, The Economist states simply that “they work”.
But these arguments are now succumbing to sheer weight of evidence. Voucher schemes are running in several different countries without ill-effects for social cohesion; those that use a lottery to [...]
McKinsey on Rural Mobile Payments
The McKinsey Quarterly is carrying an article on mobile SMS payments in China and how banks can use this as an excellent opportunity to bring the rural population into the financial mainstream:
Recognizing the need for a new rural payments system, in August 2006 the People’s Bank of China directed domestic banks to devise a solution. China [...]
Defending America: The Land of Ideas
BBC News has an excellent and insightful article by Matt Frei, defending the existence of America. For every supporter, and critic of that nation, it is worth a read.
In America the idea was ragged, rough and imperfect but it kept growing, it kept evolving and, if this isn’t a vote of confidence, it kept attracting [...]
