PAHO said it will launch the Regional Platform for Access to Health Technologies and Innovation in early May, an initiative “to improve transparency, information flow, and cooperation among countries of the region in order to promote access, innovation, rational use, and governance of essential drugs, biological medicines, and diagnostics in public health.” PAHO noted that the interactive platform “encompasses research, development, and innovation for health technologies; pharmaceutical policies and health technologies; access to and rational use of medicines; and regulation and management of intellectual property. It is a tool for health authorities in the Americas; national regulatory authorities; departments of science, technology, and innovation; scientists, researchers, and research institutes; civil society, nongovernmental organizations, and foundations that work with medicines and health technologies; and sectors of the pharmaceutical industry. The new platform offers a series of virtual tools, including:

– Communities to Share Practices: This instrument enables people and institutions to work together to share and create knowledge about common interests.

– Innovation Forum: The forum is an opportunity to collaborate on solving problems related to health innovations.

– Annotated List of Medicines: This tool contains information on the essential and strategic drugs in use in the region, and will make it possible to examine the list of essential drugs of countries, evidence summaries, and the regulatory status of health technologies.

– Observatory: This instrument provides information on the sectors and processes involved in the development, production, and regulation of health technologies through the use of standardized and periodically updated indicators.

http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6553&Itemid=1926