On 13 December 2024, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), held the 11th Trilateral Technical Symposium titled "Strengthening manufacturing capacities to respond to the noncommunicable diseases burden." The event underscored the importance of strengthening production and its diversification through initiatives that promote innovation and enhance access to health technologies. It focused on the global health burden caused by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and the role that trilateral partners can play in this regard.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, WIPO Director General Daren Tang and WHO Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines and Health Products Dr Yukiko Nakatani opened the Symposium. They drew attention to the health, economic and social impact of NCDs, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, emphasizing the need for urgent cross-sectoral efforts, investment and policy reform to successfully counter the growing NCD disease burden. They also met informally prior to the Symposium, to discuss future directions for trilateral cooperation and to renew their commitment to support integrated solutions to global health challenges.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted that NCDs account for 74% of all deaths globally. However, despite the urgent need to promote innovation and equitable access to technologies for preventing, detecting and treating NCDs, these diseases have not been prioritized. She therefore encouraged the public and private sectors to work together to build the manufacturing and innovation capacities necessary to reduce the NCD burden everywhere. Reflecting on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, she also highlighted three key insights: "First, open trade is necessary for scaling up the production and diffusion of countermeasures. Second, swift and collaborative understandings around intellectual property are preferable for maximizing both innovation and access. And third, overconcentration in manufacturing and innovative capacity becomes a vulnerability when a crisis hits."
WIPO Director General Daren Tang highlighted that one of the key challenges is ensuring that innovations that can help the world address NCDs "go to the ground, get to grassroots, and help create real impact, especially in developing countries." He explained that "a key long-term solution in this area is to help Member States develop dynamic ecosystems, whether in trade, in health, or in innovation. This will help them to more effectively absorb technology that is being transferred or licensed as well as support the deployment and commercialization of home-grown innovations and solutions." WIPO Director General Tang further highlighted that "this ecosystems approach will also allow those who are setting up local manufacturing capabilities not just to be a centre of manufacturing, but to leverage the tremendous investment in infrastructure, skills and knowledge that this entails to themselves become centres of innovation. Let us not give people ingredients but let us help them build kitchens."
WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Yukiko Nakatani emphasized that "access to affordable, quality-assured health technologies is a cornerstone of universal health coverage and a fundamental human right. Yet, millions of people living with NCDs do not receive the treatment they need due to high costs, limited availability, and inequitable distribution of medicines." She further noted that "as we look ahead to the UN General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of NCDs in 2025, we have a pivotal opportunity to adopt a new, ambitious, and achievable framework to accelerate the global NCD response, grounded in evidence and human rights."
The keynote address was delivered by Dr Jeremy Farrar, WHO's Chief Scientist. He emphasized: "This scientific golden age will yield incredible advances in all areas of health, but if we do nothing, those advances will only be available to a small number of people in a few countries. … If we don't put equality at the heart of how we develop our science, innovation, and technological advances, then I fear that science, despite all of our desires, will lead to greater inequality." He added that robust, responsive and well-governed institutions are essential at national and global levels to respond to the needs of the people. He also stressed that to build greater equity, trends and scientific advances need to be anticipated instead of reacting to them.
The opening remarks and keynote address were followed by three panel discussions.
The first panel, moderated by WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Yukiko Nakatani, discussed the latest developments and strategies to reduce the global NCD burden, featuring speakers from WHO, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the NCD Alliance.
The second panel, moderated by WTO Deputy Director-General Johanna Hill, discussed challenges and opportunities in enhancing and coordinating manufacturing capacities, including the role of trade and intellectual property (IP) in this process. The discussion featured speakers from the Council on Foreign Relations, the Regionalized Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative, MSF Access Campaign, Aspen Pharmacare Group, MedTech Europe, and the Access to Medicine Foundation.
The third panel, moderated by WIPO Assistant Director General Dr Edward Kwakwa, discussed how IP can serve as an enabler of innovative technologies that help address NCDs, and the contribution that local and regional manufacturing can play in enlarging access to health technologies and promoting sustainable innovation ecosystems. Speakers represented the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation, Eli Lilly, Duopharma Biotech, Cancer Alliance South Africa, and the Medicines Patent Pool.
In her closing remarks, WTO Deputy Director-General Hill underscored the need to foster an environment that encourages scientific research and development while ensuring that new treatments remain accessible and affordable to all. She also noted the importance of encouraging countries and regions to emerge as hubs of innovation and technology, adding that open and predictable trade rules are essential to enabling new market entrants and creating resilient supply chains.
The video recording of the Symposium, presentations and bios of speakers and moderators are available on the https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/trip_1312202410_e/trip_1312202410_e.htm
