WHO agrees watered down resolution for clearer drug prices

The World Health Organisation's member states adopted on Tuesday a watered down resolution on improving drug price transparency that leading medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) criticised as insufficient.

An initial draft of the resolution first introduced by Italy at WHO's main annual meeting called for near absolute transparency in the pharmaceutical sector, including requirements that companies make all data from clinical trials publicly available.

The Italian text presented to the World Health Assembly also demanded full disclosure from pharmaceutical firms on net revenue, once research and development, tax breaks and other subsidies are factored in.

Several countries -- notably those that host large pharmaceutical industries like the US, Britain, Germany and Switzerland -- expressed reservations about the Italian draft. The final version includes several modifications.

For example, an earlier draft called on governments to "require the dissemination of results and ...