Singapore hosted the Regional Forum on Strategic Issues in Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property on 3 December 2007. The event, which Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) co-organised with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), gathered heads and representatives of Asia-Pacific Intellectual Property (IP) offices and various stakeholders to deliberate on key issues surrounding the ongoing global debate on the role of intellectual property in facilitating drug research and affordable access to medicines.
Experts from the WIPO and the World Health Organization (WHO) gave an update on the ongoing intergovernmental deliberations on this subject in their respective organizations. Amongst industry and research community representatives who presented at the regional forum, Professor Sir David Lane, Chairman, Biomedical Research Council, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, delivered a presentation on current and future business models for the pharmaceutical industry and biomedical research, while Professor Tan Ser Kiat, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Singapore Health Services, spoke on the strategic directions and partnership opportunities for stakeholders.
The one-day forum concluded with an interactive roundtable discussion on balancing health priorities, international trade and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection in which participants were also given an opportunity to field questions to the speakers.