'Access to drugs for TB' webinar

Access to drugs for TB: Mapping issues, finding solutions webinar

A UCL-TB event to discuss anti-TB treatment access challenges across different settings

Friday 1st March, 15:00-16:30 GMT

Despite the development of new drugs, and trials to support more effective treatment regimens for TB, cure cannot be achieved without access to medicines. Drug pricing, access policies and patent issues are often responsible for inequalities in getting access to lifesaving medicines to people that need most. This webinar aims to describe those issues, identify the parts of the process most relevant to resolve, and the specific problems with individual drugs. Two talks from experts in the field will be followed by discussions with panel members from different institutions across the world.

Watch the video of the event here

The second event in the series will be on Access to Rifapentine of 12 June 2024

Organizers: Ilaria Motta and Jess Potter

Speakers:

Christophe Perrin, TB advocacy Pharmacist, Médecins Sans Frontières

Christophe is a pharmacist with a MSc in Public Health earned at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium in 2004. He has worked in clinical research for oncology and diabetes medicines for 10 years, before doing several field missions for humanitarian organizations, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Pharmaciens Sans Frontières. Since 2005, he has focused his work on the challenges that affect the supply of quality-assured and affordable medicines in limited-resource countries, as well as the R&D for infectious diseases treatment. After 2 years as Pharmaceutical Coordinator of MSF Access Campaign, he provides since January 2016 support on pharmaceutical advocacy to MSF on specific dossiers, such as access to Tuberculosis medicines.

David Branigan, TB Project Officer, Treatment Action Group

David Branigan is the TB Project Officer at Treatment Action Group (TAG) where he advances TAG’s advocacy to promote increased investment in TB research and improved access to TB tools. David closely follows scientific developments relevant to TB diagnosis, treatment, and prevention; creates resources to sensitize activists, policymakers, and other stakeholders to these developments; and coordinates advocacy campaigns to promote equitable access to the highest standard of TB care. David holds an MSc in International Affairs from The New School.

Panel Members:

Tiziana Masini, independent consultant

Tiziana is a public health consultant, with a major focus on Tuberculosis and Access to Medicines. She is currently working at the WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme and the WHO-hosted Global Accelerator for Paediatric formulations (GAP-f) network. Her work focuses on optimizing access to paediatric formulations across a broad range of diseases. Prior to working in public health, she was a researcher in pharmaceutical R&D both in the public and the private sector. In the past few years, Tiziana has been consulting for several non-profit organizations including Médecins Sans Frontières, where she coordinated the Out of Step and Step Up for TB projects. She holds a PhD in medicinal chemistry from the University of Groningen (NL).

Tifenn Humbert, WHO Euro Office Technical Officer

Tifenn is a Public Health Pharmacist with a Master in Public Health in Developing countries from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicines (LSHTM) with extensive experience in access to medicines and health products. Her expertise includes medical supply chain, public procurement policy-making to address availability and access to affordable medicines. She joined WHO in 2012 as Procurement Officer and was in charge of Global WHO procurement for medicines and health products. Since April 2016, she has been working in the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen, in the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems, Access to Medicines and Health Products Unit ( CPS/ AMP). Her work focuses on providing technical support to the countries in the region in the area of Strategic Procurement for medicines and medical supply chain. Since 2019, she coordinated the work on Access to TB medicines, including an assessment on access to TB medicines in WHO EURO region, looking at challenges / barriers faced by EU countries to procure TB medicines and pulling stakeholders together to find joint solutions.