Prof. Abbott Presents to the WHO and WTO

Edward Ball Eminent Scholar Professor of International Law Frederick M. Abbott has recently made presentations for the World Health Organization and World Trade Organization. On April 20, Abbott presented “Using Competition Law to Promote Affordable Access to Health Technologies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries” at the World Health Organization 2021 Fair Pricing Forum. The talk was part of an invitation-only series of events on fair pricing of pharmaceuticals, and Abbott is one of the world’s foremost authorities on global pharmaceutical policy. On May 12, Abbott presented “Localization of Pharmaceutical Production and the Dissemination of Health Technologies” at the World Trade Organization’s 2021 Trade and Public Health Virtual Course Webinar on Dissemination of Health Technologies. The event’s primary audience was trade diplomats, but it was also open to the public. A recording of the full webinar is available on YouTube.

Abbott is highly regarded for his scholarship and professional activities in international intellectual property rights and global economic issues. He often presents to global organizations and has served as an expert consultant for numerous international and regional organizations, governments and nongovernmental organizations, primarily in the fields of intellectual property, public health, trade, competition and sustainable development.

“The COVID-19 pandemic made manifest the successes and failures of the global public health infrastructure,” said Abbott. “We have seen tremendous gains in the science and technology needed to address disease through new vaccines and therapeutics, including innovative production technologies. At the same time, we have seen that mechanisms for early response, and capacity for worldwide production and distribution of vaccines, were (and remain) decidedly inadequate. There is great interest across the countries and regions of the world for greater self-sufficiency and “localizing” production of vaccines and therapeutics. Enhancing production capacity is the subject of a good part of my research and consultative work undertaken with colleagues specialized in the complex technologies and implementation in this field. My recent presentation for the WTO focused on a recent study that I undertook and managed with colleagues from various disciplines.”

Published on May 28, 2021